


Wonderland

by seludicrous (cinderellalou)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alice In Wonderland AU, BaekXing, BaekYeol - Freeform, Do Kyungsoo - Freeform, EXO - Freeform, HunHan - Freeform, KaiSoo - Freeform, Kim Jongin - Freeform, Luhan - Freeform, OT12 - Freeform, Oh Sehun - Freeform, XiuChen - Freeform, kailu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-07-16 03:32:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7250269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderellalou/pseuds/seludicrous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello everyone -- just letting you guys know that this isn't really a new chapter, i'm just reposting everything here from where i originally posted it on asianfanfics :) but a new chapter should be coming quite soon! hope you enjoy x</p></blockquote>





	1. down the rabbit hole

Luhan shivered as the harsh fall wind cut through him, huddling into his best friend’s side as they trudged through the crowds at the outdoor shopping outlet.

“Why is it so freezing today?” he pouted as he wormed closer.

Xiumin laughed, pulling him into a friendly half-hug.

“Because it’s upstate New York and you’re severly underweight,” the black-haired boy teased as he pinched Luhan’s underarm, “Besides, you’re the one who wanted to go shopping. We would still be snug in our dorm beds if I had my way.”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, “But I didn’t think it would be this cold.” Luhan had been living in the States for nearly a year longer than his friend, but he was the one still struggling to keep up with the foreign weather patterns. 

“Well it wouldn’t be this cold if you’d bought the warm coat like I told you to and not this flimsy thing,” Xiumin pointed out, pulling on the thin sleeve of Luhan’s brand new jacket.

“But it’s so pretty,” Luhan insisted, fiddling with the unnecessary zipper on the light grey sleeve. He had promised himself earlier this morning when they had left their dorm that he wouldn’t buy anything at the outlet mall, seeing as their shared closet was already busting at the seams due to Luhan’s shopping addiction. But then the sales clerk had approached him with the jacket and a million assurances of how good it would look against his newly dyed ash-blonde hair, and Luhan was a sucker for lovely things and lovelier compliments. “Besides,” he continued, grasping for some sort of excuse, “it perfectly matches our watches!”

He thrust his watch-clad wrist out next to Xiumin’s and beamed proudly. Luhan had worried the gesture would seem too romantic when he had went all out for the custom white-gold watches on the year anniversary of their friendship, but he just couldn’t help himself. Xiumin meant the world to him and he wanted to show his affection in a practical way that his friend would appreciate and use everyday. Luckily, Xiumin seemed to understand and love the gift, and Luhan hadn’t seen his wrist bare in the three months since.

“True,” Xiumin grinned back at him, “but you’re still an idiot for suffering just cause something’s pretty.”

Luhan made a face and a weak attempt to struggle out of Xiumin’s grasp, but the sudden gust of wind kept him firmly tucked into his friend’s warm side. He whimpered pathetically, but perked up when he spotted his saving grace just a few shops down.

“Hey Minnie, would you buy me a coffee?” he asked sweetly, wrapping both skinny arms around his friend’s torso in a firm hug.

Xiumin rolled his eyes. “And why can’t you go get the coffee?”

Luhan shuffled his feet. “Uhm, I might have… accidentally spent all my money on the jacket,” he rushed out, ducking his head to hide the growing heat in his face. “I’ll pay you back when we get home, promise!”

Xiumin shook his head in amused exasperation, already taking out his wallet. “Its okay, I just don’t know how you lasted this long without me here to save your ass.”

“Me neither!” Luhan agreed happily, pressing a smooch of appreciation to his friend’s full cheek. “And hopefully I’ll never find out! Whole milk and a pump of vanilla please!”

He laughed as Xiumin flipped him off and left to go get their coffees. Humming to himself as he took note of which shops they hadn’t yet visited, Luhan wondered if it was nearing lunchtime. Maybe he should have asked Xiumin to pick up some scones as well, or some of those frosting dipped cake pops, or lemon pound cake, or even some of those half brownie half cookie things…

His tune and thought process got cut off when he suddenly collided with another body.

Barely saving himself from tripping backwards and quickly whipping around to apologize, Luhan lost his train of thought when he set his eyes on the victim.

The boy looked like one of the manic characters Luhan often spotted in Times Square, but wildly out of place in the current locale. He was a bit shorter than him, with a mop of fluffy, pink hair in which bits of tinsel and baby’s breath were woven. Burgundy framed eyes peered up at him curiously from beneath the boy’s fringe, but Luhan was too busy taking in the entire sight of him to notice the stare. His outfit of choice -- which consisted of pastel pinstriped shorts and knee-high socks to match, an unkempt button up shirt, and a deep scarlet, velvet waistcoat with heart-shaped buttons -- was entirely distracting. He was also carrying a ridiculously large cross-body satchel, which had been so teeming with goods that many items had fallen out all over the ground when they collided. Luhan only broke his stare when he heard the boy tapping his oxford-clad foot, looking up at him with an impish grin and an amusedly raised eyebrow.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Luhan blurted out, immediately dropping down to pick up the boy’s items, “I should have been watching where I was going!”

The boy shrugged and started shoving things back into his satchel, cramming small parcels and trinkets from the nearby stores into non-existent spaces. “Quite alright, your face was ridiculous though. Kind of dopey.” He mimicked Luhan’s signature day-dreaming look, gazing off and blinking slowly, mouth just a little agape, before smiling wickedly at him.

Luhan blushed, gathering the last of the fallen objects and handing them to him. This boy was really quite rude, but Luhan supposed he deserved it, having plowed him down so suddenly. 

“Yeah, I tend to space out a lot. Everyone says I always have my head in the clouds. I guess I should work on that.”

“At least you still have your head,” the boy replied gravely, voice dropping to a low whisper, “That’s more than some can say.”

Luhan laughed nervously, not knowing exactly how to reply to such a statement. Thankfully he didn’t have to, because the boy straightened quickly and with an exaggerated bow, which caused a considerable amount of tinsel to fall out of his hair and onto Luhan’s feet, he threw a wink at him, turned on his feet, and left, whistling the same tune Luhan had been humming just moments before.

“Well that was weird,” Luhan muttered to himself, watching as the boy made his way further into the crowds of people.

“What was weird?” Xiumin chimed in from behind him so suddenly that he nearly knocked both the coffees out of his friend’s hands.

“Jesus, warn me before you come at me from behind!” he whined, taking the cup that his friend held out to him. Noticing the strange look Xiumin gave him, he quickly continued, “Okay, that sounded weird. You know what I meant!”

Xiumin shook his head. “No, it’s not that. Why’d you take your watch off?”

Luhan glanced down to where Xiumin was pointing, and his mouth fell open when he caught sight of his now watch-less wrist. Where had it gone? Had he dropped it somewhere? His face must have showcased his distress, because Xiumin immediately grabbed his arm and sat them down on the nearest bench.

“Okay,” Xiumin started after a long swig of his Americano, “Just tell me everywhere you went while I was getting the coffees. What shops did you go into?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Luhan responded sadly, twisting his hands in his lap, “I was just kind of waiting around, and you got back right after the boy who knocked into me left, so there’s nothing—”

“Wait wait wait,” Xiumin cut him off, brows furrowed and voice serious, “What boy? Who knocked into you?”

Luhan bit his lip. “Well, I suppose I knocked into him, really. I wasn’t walking around or anything, but I guess I just didn’t see him and hit him. His stuff went everywhere, so I helped him pick it all up and then—”

“What’d he look like?”

“I really wish you’d stop interrupting me,” Luhan huffed.

“Sorry, but if I don’t you’ll ramble on forever,” Xiumin replied, patting his knee. “So, what’d he look like? Where’d he go?”

Luhan stuck out his tongue out at that comment, but continued, “Uh, he was kind of weirdly dressed, but kind of… pretty.” He chose to ignore Xiumin’s pointed look. “He was around our age, but dressed like… the Victorian ages meets flowerchild on acid. And I don’t know, he went that way,” he paused, pointing vaguely in the direction the boy went, “but he only stuck around for a second after I knocked into him. Then you came back and here we are.”

The smaller boy groaned, dropping his head into his hands and muttering something incomprehensible. Luhan prodded the side of his head with one hesitant finger until Xiumin looked up at him.

“Luhan, that asshole stole your watch. He totally pick-pocketed you.”

“What? No way,” Luhan stuttered out, clutching his coffee and looking about dejectedly, “No way a random person would do that. I probably dropped it somewhere, or maybe a latch broke.”

“Do you have any idea where he went?” Xiumin asked. “We could ask people if they know him, but if he’s really a thief he’s probably gone by now.”

Luhan fought the urge to tear up, knowing that it was a shallow thing to get upset over. It was just a watch, after all. Even if it did symbolize his relationship with his most important person.

“No,” he replied softly, hoping that Xiumin wouldn’t be too upset with him. It wasn't like he tried to be this naive. “I guess we can just file a—wait, he’s right there! I see him!”

Luhan and Xiumin jumped up simultaneously, Luhan pointing wildly in the direction of the boy, who was now sipping an apple cider clear on the other side of the mall’s outdoor court.

“What a dumb ass,” Xiumin remarked angrily, rolling up his sleeves and moving in the direction the other was pointing in. “Didn’t even leave the scene of the crime. Where exactly is he?”

“Right there, near the cider place!” Luhan walked a few paces behind Xiumin, kicking himself mentally for wearing his newest pair of shoes today. They looked good, but the blisters that were forming on his ankles slowed him down a bit.

Xiumin continued his pace, but threw a confused look over his shoulder. “That old guy? Are you sure?”

“What?” Luhan glanced back over at the pink-haired boy, who stood next to an elderly man near the cider stand’s counter. “No, not him! The Victorian crack fairy next to him!”

“I don’t see anyone else!”

Luhan opened his mouth to chide his oblivious friend on how he could possibly miss someone that strange looking, but he held back when the pink-haired boy lifted his gaze to meet his. Before Luhan could think to say anything, the boy tipped his imaginary hat to him, blew him a kiss, and promptly began running away.

“Oh my god, he saw us!” Luhan shouted, starting to run as well and trying to avoid knocking into other shoppers, Xiumin following him blindly. “He’s getting away!”

“Fuck, where?!”

“Just there! He’s running up that way, towards the front entrance!”

The two of them sprinted after the boy, who was surprisingly fast and nearing the entrance of the outlet mall quickly, already making his way down the shrub lined path leading up to it. Still, Luhan’s legs were longer and he wasn’t carrying a satchel half the size of his body. He was mere yards from the boy when the back of his shoe slipped off his foot, sending him off balance and immediately down to the ground.

“Ahh!” Luhan yelped as his ankle twisted painfully beneath him, hands scraping the ground in front of him to break his fall. Xiumin staggered when he saw Luhan fall, and completely stopped to make sure he was alright, but Luhan waved him on.

“I’m fine, go get him! I’ll catch up,” he insisted, gripping his ankle with one hand and pushing at his friend’s leg with the other. The pink-haired boy had also noticed the fall and was gleefully skipping away now, wide and wicked smile plastered to his pretty face.

“Luhan, I never even saw who you were—”

“He’s tiring!” Luhan’s voice dropped to a whisper this time, wildly gesturing to the last rose-covered shrub in the long line of the walkway. The boy had obviously been outrun and had jumped behind it as if to hide, probably thinking Luhan hadn’t seen him. “He’s just behind that last bush, sneak up on him!”

Xiumin gave him an odd look but nodded nonetheless.

“We won’t catch him at this rate,” Luhan announced loudly, ushering Xiumin on as his friend creeped closer and closer to the boy’s hiding spot, “My ankle hurts too much to walk, and he was so fast. Too bad about the watch, I guess we’ll just have to file a report…”

Luhan cut off and waited with baited breath as Xiumin rushed the last couple of feet and launched himself behind the shrub. Luhan quickly struggled to his feet, wincing at the sharp pang that ran up his leg, but paused before he took another step. Where there should have been a yelp of surprise or the muffled sounds of a scuffle, there was silence. Luhan bit his lip.

“Minnie?”

When no response came, Luhan assumed the worst. The boy had looked absolutely crazed and proved to be a clepto, who knows what kind of dangerous weapons were stuffed in that large bag, or his silky shirtsleeves for that matter. Luhan sprinted to where Xiumin surely lay bleeding, and wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or further horrified with what he saw in place of him.

What appeared on the ground behind the rose shrub was neither Xiumin or a dangerous pink-haired lunatic. Instead, there was what could only be described as a rabbit hole, except this rabbit hole was emitting an eerie violet light and a faint sucking sound, like a vacuum of space had appeared in the earth.

Luhan blinked once, twice in disbelief, and then proceeded to hyperventilate. Where in the hell was Xiumin? Had the mysterious boy kidnapped him? How had they gotten away so fast without Luhan seeing them? Could they really have fallen down a god damn rabbit hole?

Luhan looked around to see if there was anywhere else the pair could have gone, but there was nothing. One could only leave the outlet mall through the gated entrance that the path led up to, and there was no way he wouldn’t have seen them leave. His eyes drifted back to the rabbit whole, the conveniently human-sized rabbit hole, when a hand on his shoulder startled him.

“Whoa, sorry,” a young woman backed away slightly when he recoiled violently, an apologetic smile on her face. “I think you dropped your phone.”

Luhan stared at his phone in her hand, which must have dropped onto the ground when he fell, and then to her face, and back to the glowing, echoing hole right next to them.

“Th-thank you,” he stammered, quickly taking the phone from her. She nodded politely and began to retreat.

“Wait, miss!” Luhan rushed out, his emotions a mixture of nervous and relieved when she turned back round. “Do you not see this?” He gestured to the hole, crouching next to it and looking up at her expectantly.

She looked at the hole for awhile, squinting, and then turned to him with confused expression. “What exactly am I supposed to see?”

Luhan’s mouth went dry. She really couldn’t see it?

“N-nothing, sorry I – I think I got too dizzy when I fell. I should just rest a minute. Thanks for getting my phone,” he said weakly, bowing his head slightly in appreciation and watching her walk away. He felt like he was going to pass out from the oddness of it all.

What was going on here?

He tucked his phone into his jacket’s pocket and stood up, toes aligning with the edge of the hole, the strange humming that echoed from it chilling his entire body. He hadn’t been peering into the depths for even a minute before a shiver of realization ran through his body.

Xiumin was down there. He wasn’t sure how he felt so certain of it, or how he was even mentally handling this ridiculous of a situation, but the pull he felt from the softly glowing pit felt too strong. Too familiar. The pit seemed to be calling to him without words or even comprehensible sounds, the light beckoning him, the girth of it shrinking – The hole was shrinking!

Luhan went into panic mode. The hole, which had been wide enough for a large man to fit inside, was diminishing quickly. Another 30 seconds and even someone skinny as him wouldn’t be able to go through. His hands shook as he braced them at his sides, knowing he didn’t have time for any other sort of plan. He had to get his friend back, had to make sure he was safe. Xiumin would do the same for him.

Not knowing if it could work, but feeling that it would, Luhan closed his eyes and jumped.


	2. souvenirs

Baekhyun panted as he made his way down the narrow forest path, temper rising when low hanging leaves and creeping branches reached out to smack him as he passed. Unable to fight back while his hands were preoccupied with the heavy satchel he carried, he simply ground his teeth and endured it, until a particularly cheeky tendril attempted to sneak behind him.

“Oh no you don’t!” he dropped his bag and whipped around, batting at the guilty branch before it could smack his backside, then smirked when it quickly withdrew. “Trees these days,” he chastised the surrounding forest, “no manners. You’d think after living so long you’d have picked up on social cues.”

He momentarily regretted his words when a dozen branches shot out and started swinging at him, but regret rapidly turned to anger when a particularly thin twig sliced a shallow line across his cheek.

“OH HELL NO! NO ONE TOUCHES MY FACE!”

With a flick of a finger and a torrent of angry energy, all the limbs that had attempted to touch him were hacked off from their trees, deep violet burns marking where they had once been. The trees moaned pitifully in unison, mourning their fallen branches, but Baekhyun just shrugged, picking up his bag and moving along.

“Well, if you can’t handle your shit, don’t start it.”

Moving along his way, Baekhyun started feeling much cheerier. He did always have fun teasing the trees, of course, but more so because he was exactly 317 steps away from his boyfriend’s house. He had counted the distance before. Multiple times.

He had met Yixing nearly two seasons ago, but they had only recently begun dating, Yixing finally plucking up the courage to ask him out when Baekhyun was making one of his assigned rounds of the kingdom. Yixing didn’t actually live in the Heart kingdom, but he had been there at the street market selling his handcrafted instruments when Baekhyun had caught his eye. He smiled giddily to himself as he recalled how damn adorable Yixing had looked that day; his dark, fluffy hair had fallen into kind eyes, his yellow sweater not quite as bright as his smile. Baekhyun couldn’t remember the last time he had been so happy.

He paused at the property’s gate by the mailbox, smiling sappily at Yixing’s sloppy handwriting on its laminated label. He fingered the paper tenderly, smoothing down the edges that had lifted due to the heavy rain the land was experiencing as of late. Then, Baekhyun adjusted his shirt and fluffed his hair one more time before pushing through the wooden gate.

The yard of the cottage was unoccupied, save for the piles of wood and scrap metal that had yet to be turned into instruments, so Baekhyun directly ascended the short flight of stairs that led to the cottage’s unassuming front door. Yixing tended to work outdoors, but Baekhyun knew he had an additional workshop inside for when the strain on his waist became too much for him to remain standing. He was probably in the windowless room now and hadn’t seen Baekhyun approach, which explained why he wasn’t being swept off his feet and peppered with affection on sight.

Baekhyun rapped on the door and then positioned himself against the stair railing, facing away and casually popping a hip. He really wished he’d thought to wear his black satin shorts this morning (they were a bit shorter and therefore showed off more of his flawless legs), but he consoled himself in the fact that he looked adorable in pinstripes. Yixing had told him so. After a long stretch of absolutely nothing happening on the other side of the door, Baekhyun huffed and turned to knock again.

Was Yixing sleeping? He never made him wait so long, and Baekhyun had to make it back to the palace before it got too dark. Already thin patience waning quickly, he pounded the door for an obnoxious thirty seconds, hurriedly resuming his position when he heard shuffling from within the house.

Upon hearing the door crack open, Baekhyun flicked back a lock of bubblegum hair and turned seductively.

“Hey, babe, did you mis— Oh, it’s just you,” he paused, pouting at the fact that he was wasting his charms on Yixing’s gangly roommate, Chanyeol, rather than his man. “Where’s Xing?”

“Oh, he hasn’t been here for hours,” the oversized boy responded happily, silver-grey hair falling into warm brown eyes with how animatedly he shook his head, “probably won’t be back for hours either. Guess it’s just you and me!” He smiled down at Baekhyun, showing off a rather large set of blinding white teeth.

“Spare me,” he muttered, craning his neck to peer into the hallway in hopes that Yixing was only hiding behind a door to surprise him. Unfortunately, no one dimpled and adorable popped out, and Baekhyun was left standing on the front porch in dismay. Looking up at the salmon-colored sky, he frowned when he saw the first deep streaks of pink on the horizon. The day would soon be through.

“Oh, excuse me,” Chanyeol spoke suddenly, pulling Baekhyun out of his reverie, “Would you like to come in? I don’t have much in way of drinks, but maybe I have some juice left! Actually… no, sorry I drank it all this morning… Oh! But I can get you some water from the well! Except, I kind of broke the bucket when I tripped over it this morning, so… Baekhyun?” The taller boy stopped, large eyes blinking in concern at the smaller, who had collapsed onto the steps with an exasperated groan. “Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not alright!” he snapped in response, not bothering to look up at the giant. “I haven’t slept in my own bed in ages, my arms are broken from carrying that heavy bag all day, I’m gonna be late getting back to the palace since Yixing’s not here to help me, AND,” he raised his voice, glaring up at Chanyeol and pointing one finger at his injured cheek, “A STUPID TREE FUCKED UP MY FACE!”

He crossed his arms and dropped his head onto his knees, muttering obscenities into his puffy sleeves. Chanyeol stepped forward to lay a gentle hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, voice earnest as he consoled the smaller boy, “Don’t say that, Baek… you’re still beautiful!”

Baekhyun smacked his hand away and stood up. “Of course I am, idiot,” he sniffed, fluffing his hair and readjusting his top, “I’m freaking gorgeous, of course, but that’s not the point!”

He huffed exaggeratedly and crossed his arms. When Chanyeol did nothing but stare at him with his abnormally humongous elf eyes, he cleared his throat loudly.

“Oh! Oh,” Chanyeol nodded along at Baekhyun’s cue, “Right. Uh, so… what is the point, exactly?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes in annoyance, as if he hadn’t wanted a response.

“Well the point is that I’m in a crabby mood and I wanted my man to make it all better,” he pouted, thinking of Yixing’s soothing voice and comparing it to Chanyeol’s intrusive bark, “but that isn’t going to happen now.”

“Well, it’s not a big deal, Baek,” Chanyeol piped up, expression eager, “I can help you carry your stuff back! Maybe then you’ll feel a little better!”

“Doubt it,” he muttered automatically, eyeing the boy’s gangly limbs and mentally comparing them to Yixing’s muscular physique. Still, he needed help if he wanted to get back to the palace on time.

“How much can you even lift?” he continued doubtfully, “I don’t need you dropping my stuff all over the place and slowing me— Ahh! Put me down you oversized monkey!”

Baekhyun’s delicate fists pounded on Chanyeol’s back as he easily threw him over his shoulder, laughing obnoxiously all the while. Baekhyun swayed gently as Chanyeol paraded him around the yard, but his blood was beginning to boil over as the giant showed off.

“This isn’t even impressive, jerk face,” he snapped, reaching up to yank on Chanyeol’s massive ear until he yelped in pain, “I’m light as a feather! You probably can’t even lift one of those unfinished logs!”

Chanyeol stopped giggling and huffed loudly at that before grabbing Baekhyun about the waist and planting him firmly onto the ground in front of him. Then he turned and began to walk away from the smaller boy.

“Hey! What the fuck,” Baekhyun protested, stomping loudly after him, “You can’t just toss me around and then ignore me, you worthless piece of— Oh… wow.”

He was cut off by the awe-worthy sight of Chanyeol lifting not one, but seven uncut logs from his work pile, his now obviously muscled arms straining from what must have been hundreds of pounds. Baekhyun was speechless for a moment, but still managed to stick his tongue out when Chanyeol grinned cockily and started to perform bicep curls as easily as if he was holding a bag of foam noodles.

“Whatever,” Baekhyun retorted, flicking a piece of hair back and turning to exit through the front gate. “Just hurry up and help me, then. I’m on a schedule.

 

. . .

 

“You take a really strange way to get to the palace,” Chanyeol commented as they made their way through the thickening woods. They had been walking and talking for some time – Well, Chanyeol had been talking avidly, but it was one-sided as Baekhyun was too caught up in his thoughts to follow the conversation. It had been a long, strange day and he wanted to get where he was going so he could tell his favorite person in the world all about it.

“Hello, earth to Baek!”

His thoughts were interrupted as one massive hand waves in front of his face. He backed up, but not quickly enough to avoid one of Chanyeol’s paws hitting his nose. Baekhyun immediately covered his face in pain and Chanyeol flailed helplessly beside him.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol nearly shouted, dropping the bag and hovering around the smaller boy nervously. “Does it hurt? Are you bleeding? Oh, god you poor beautiful angel, I—”

“Chanyeol, please shut up,” Baekhyun waved him off, slowly lowering his hands from his tender but unharmed nose, “It’s not actually that bad.” He paused, considering chastising the taller boy, but he was already yanking at his long sleeves and staring at the ground in distress, so Baekhyun graciously decided to spare him.

They walked along in silence for a long time, until finally Baekhyun counted the 3927th step. They were there. He threw his hand out on Chanyeol’s chest to stop the boy, who had been trudging along guiltily, staring at his feet and dragging his imaginary tail all the while.

“I can make it from here,” Baekhyun announced, smirking when he saw Chanyeol gaping at the small hand on his chest and promptly blushing.

“A-are you sure?” the boy stuttered, reluctantly handing the bag over to him. “Cause the palace is still pretty far…”

“Oh, no worries,” Baekhyun winked, suppressing a laugh when Chanyeol visibly gulped. “I know a shortcut.”

Baekhyun dropped his hand and readjusted his satchel, smiling to himself as he watched Chanyeol dejectedly inch away to leave. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to throw the puppy a bone.

“Oh, hey, Chanyeol?”

The taller boy nearly sprinted to cross the short distance between them again, to which Baekhyun let out a snort of laughter before composing himself.

“Y-yes?”

Chanyeol stood watching him, and Baekhyun could hear the hitch in his breath as he leaned up to whisper in his ear.

“Thank you for helping me. I didn’t know you were so useful… and strong.”

Pulling away slightly to let Chanyeol watch him, he gave the boy’s bicep a gentle squeeze, then leaning back up to press a sweet kiss to his cheek. The kiss was a little too close to Chanyeol’s jaw to be considered chaste, but it wasn’t Baekhyun’s fault that the boy was so damn tall.

As he stepped back Baekhyun could see that Chanyeol had gone flush from his neck all the way to his projectile ears. Smiling up at him when he didn’t move away, Baekhyun pushed at his chest again and waved lightly.

“Bye, Chan.”

Waving weakly in response and nearly tripping over a sneaky tree root in the process, Chanyeol turned and left, an all-encompassing smile on his dorky face.

Baekhyun allowed himself an audible laugh as he watched the other’s retreating figure. God, he loved charity work.

Continuing on his way, Baekhyun strolled casually along the path until he was sure Chanyeol had long gone, then quickly dipped further into the thick of the forest. It wasn’t long after that he found the previously marked tree. It was a subtle marking, just a single streak of ashy violet burnt into it’s base, and one would have to know what to look for to spot it, but he made sure to pile extra leaves in front of it just in case. Then, lifting a loose piece of bark, he tickled the tree’s tender spot.

The tree shook lightly in laughter, a few of its leaves drifting downwards to land on Baekhyun’s head and shoulders. He grinned up at the trunk, tickling more vigorously until he heard the first crack of wood.

He stepped back as the trunk twisted and cracked, frowning a little at the process. He hoped the tree didn’t feel pain as it contorted, but doubted it when the familiar low groan of ancient wood splitting rang through the forest. Usually, Baekhyun would feel nervous about the loud sounds, paranoid that someone would spot and follow him, but he never worried about it near nightfall. All the sounds were strange and unexplainable then.

After a few more snaps and groans the tree settled, its middle now gaping open in a tall oval, deep violet light of his created portal emanating from it. The light quickly faded, bringing forth the image of a lone house nestled in a deep vale. Baekhyun patted the tree gently for it’s efforts and promptly stepped through. 

Popping out on the other side of the now absent tree portal, Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief. He’d made it home, and though the sky was now a solid deep pink, if he hurried he should be able to get to the palace before complete darkness fell. At least he hoped so.

“I’m hoooommmmeee!” he called out, trudging his way across the vale, frowning when he saw that an invitation to a tea party had been left in his always empty mailbox. He left it there, arms already full enough. He’d have to remember to check if he was on any spam mailing lists later. Turning back towards the home, he let his eyes take their fill of the familiar sight.

The house was tall and weathered with a stone chimney that no longer emitted any smoke and spindly pillars that held up the two story’s porch and drooping balcony. The pale pink paint was chipping in places and only one pair of shutters was completely intact, but Baekhyun had to smile as he laid eyes upon his house. He had grown up here, after all. His room in the palace suite was much nicer, of course, but there was a sense of calm and familiarity here that he could never feel while swaddled in his palace sheets.

“Hellooooo,” he called again, panting as he readjusted the heavy bag on his hip, “baby brother? I come bearing treats!”

Frowning when no response came, Baekhyun pushed open the door to the house and made his way into the sitting room. There, sitting cross legged on the floor in nothing but his boxers, a pair of combat boots, and the hot pink Beats that Baekhyun had gifted him from the last trip, was his younger brother, Chen.

“Cheeen Chen,” Baekhyun called sweetly, walking over to stand directly in front of the boy, but still he was ignored. The boy continued to bop his curly head along to the music that was surely ripping apart his eardrums, eyes closed and humming along contentedly. Frustrated, Baekhyun yanked one of the earpieces from the younger’s ear and screamed, “CHEN! I’M HOME YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!”

“What was this called again?” Chen inquired, pointing to his beats and smiling his signature curling grin.

Baekhyun huffed, leaning in to listen to the insane noises pouring from the headphones. He wrinkled his noise in distaste.

“It’s trap music. Why don’t you ever listen to any of the nice music I bring you?”

Chen simply smiled before suddenly gasping, jumping to his feet, and grabbing Baekhyun’s face.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun demanded, backing up and fruitlessly attempting to detach himself. Chen had an affinity for dramatics and mischief, so he could never be too careful.

“Baek,” Chen whispered, eyes dark with concern, “your eyes are bleeding.”

“What? Are you sur— Oh, no, it’s just my makeup. See,” he swiped at his left eye, holding out his finger that was now coated in the burgundy powder, “just some eye shadow.”

Chen eyed him carefully, clearly unsure. Baekhyun felt his heart clench at the worry lines etched into his brother’s face. He had almost forgotten that the boy could express those kinds of emotions.

“Chen, it’s fine, promise,” Baekhyun assured, holding out his hand to him tentatively, “Don’t you want to see what I brought you?”

At that mention, Chen tackled him in excitement, slamming Baekhyun and his bag onto the wooden floor.

“TWINKIES?! You said you’d bring twinkies!”

“Of course that’s what you’d remember,” Baekhyun laughed, shoving the younger off of him. For whatever reason Chen had been absolutely obsessed with the over-processed sweets ever since Baekhyun had brought a pack home in the last haul. He had also been harassing him for more whenever he could remember to do so.

However, that wasn’t exactly what Baekhyun had thought to bring him today.

Standing over his bag, hand on the zipper, he paused. Had he gone too far with Chen’s gift?

“Chen, your gift is a little… different this time. Not really an object. There’s all the regular stuff to pawn obviously,” Baekhyun’s voice wavered a bit, still a tad unsure himself if he was making a good decision, “but I also got you a very… special gift.”

Chen cocked his head, flat eyebrows lowering in confusion.

“Limited edition twinkies?”

“Wha— no, forget the twinkies,” Baekhyun huffed, fidgeting nervously, “It’s better than food… a lot more entertaining for sure—”

“Baek, don’t tease,” Chen whined, hand tugging on Baekhyun’s sleeve and eyes bright in anticipation. “Show me showmeplease show me open it show—“

“Yah! Shut up,” Baekhyun slapped a hand over his brother’s mouth, quickly recoiling when it was coated in the saliva from his tongue, “you’re way too old to act this childish.”

Muttering curses under his breath and shaking a very excited Chen off his arm, he unzipped the bag and with a great heave, spilled its contents onto the floor between them. There was a loud thunk as the largest parcel hit the ground, a low groan emitting from its mouth. Baekhyun smiled at his brother, who simply stared down at his gift.

“Soooo,” he prodded anxiously, kneeling down by the unconscious body, “What do you think?”

Chen didn’t smile back, narrowing his eyes at him instead.

“I don’t understand.”

“What?" Did he not like it? He knew that Chen got lonely living in this house without him, so he’d been sure that he would’ve been over enthused at the prospect of company. He’d hoped this would be his favorite thing yet. “What don’t you like about him?”

Chen prodded his present’s face with one booted foot, leaned down to pull lightly on a lock of black hair. Looking up at Baekhyun, an irritated expression sitting on his face. “You said you’d bring me twinkies!”

Baekhyun grinned mischievously. “I did! Well, one anyways. And look,” he kneeled down next to the unconscious boy, lifting his shirt to reveal an impressively toned abdomen, “he’s totally ripped!”

Chen stared at the boy’s abs for a long while, and when his gaze returned to Baekhyun’s his eyes were twinkling terribly.

“Ohhh,” he laughed, reaching one hand down into his boot, “I get it.”

Before Baekhyun could even process his response or move to stop him, Chen pulled a dagger from his boot and rammed it down into his present’s stomach.

Baekhyun watched in horror as Chen dragged the knife through the boy’s soft flesh, leaving a deepening, spurting gash in his abdomen.

“C-Chen, stop,” Baekhyun protested weakly, trying not to gag as Chen stepped in the blood that was beginning to pool underneath the boy. “He’ll die…”

But Chen ignored him. Instead, he grinned, lips curling into something devilish as he stuck one curious finger into the wound.

“Chen! Stop doing that, he’ll—,” Baekhyun cried out, but he faltered when he heard the cry coming from the formerly unconscious boy.

“Ahh, wh-what is this?” the boy cried out, at first attempting to move away but halting when his gaze dropped to where Chen’s bloody hands hovered above his abdomen.

“What are you doing to me?! Please—”

Baekhyun moved closer to him, knowing he had to get him some help before he bled to death.

“Please don’t move,” he started, hands outstretched and approaching the boy’s abdomen, “This might hurt a little but I’m trying to help y—”

“It’s you!” the boy screamed, shuffling back as quickly as possible from the brothers, clutching his bleeding stomach. “You kidnapped me! What do you want with m— Oh my fuck where is he?? You better not have touched him or—”

But Baekhyun didn’t get to hear the end of the threat, because Chen had promptly struck the boy over the head with an iron fire poker. He stared in renewed shock as the boy fell back down to the ground, this time staying there.

“Chen, stop injuring him, god damn it! At this rate there won’t be any left of him for me to save!”

“Well, it’s not my fault,” Chen pouted, still dangerously wielding the fire poker, “he scared me!”

“Wha— how did he scare you?”

“I thought he was dead! And then he jumped up out of nowhere!”

“Why the hell would I bring a dead body to keep you company?” Baekhyun deadpanned.

“Why would you bring me a live one?”

“Because I thought you needed someon— oh, never mind!” Baekhyun shook his head in frustration, yanking the fire poker from his brother’s grip. If he was being honest, he wasn’t even exactly sure why he thought this would be a good idea when he’d initially caught the boy. He had just hoped that Chen would be happy about it. Turning back to his brother, he wondered aloud, “Why did you rip his stomach open?”

Chen stared at him as if he was the most vapid being to grace the land.

“To get the twinkies.”

“Why THE FUCK would I hide twinkies in a random boy’s stomach?!” Baekhyun protested, nearly pulling his hair out at this point.

“Don’t ask me!” Chen retorted equally aggressive, “You’re the one who promised twinkies and then showed me his stomach! What was I supposed to think?”

Baekhyun slapped a weary hand to his forehead and groaned.

“Well great, Chen. I was hoping this was gonna be an alright day for once, but since we’re both idiots and have nearly killed a boy it looks like it’s ending with blood on our hands! ”

Chen let out a twinkling laugh.

“Not like it’s something we haven’t done before.”

Baekhyun felt his blood run cold at his brother’s statement.

“W-what was that?”

“What was what?”

“That, what you just said,” Baekhyun pressed, mind whirring miles a minute. “Repeat what you just said.”

“What was what.”

“No, not that,” Baekhyun rushed out, grabbing onto Chen’s shoulders and staring straight into his eyes. “It sounded like you remembered something, Chen.” He paused to breathe, not entirely sure if he was really prepared to hear the answer to his question. “Do you remember what we did?”

Chen’s gaze bore deeply into his, a dark intelligence flickering beneath his usually cloudy stare. Baekhyun swallowed when his brother finally opened his mouth to respond.

“You mean that time we got wasted at the fawns’ Spring Awakening party? Cause I DEFINITELY remember that. Especially the—”

Baekhyun held firm, snapping his fingers in Chen’s face to stop him from joking.

“No, Chen, not that. Focus, please,” his voice came slowly and steadily, though he felt like he could crack at any moment. “You don’t remember what we did when… what happened when we were kids, do you?

Chen screwed up his face.

“When who were kids?”

“Wha—Us, Chen. Me and you, what we—,” Baekhyun was cut off when Chen squirmed his way out of his arms. Baekhyun watched as Chen dropped down over the unconscious boy, crouching behind him so his arms had easy access to his neck and chest. Baekhyun froze as he realized Chen was still in possession of his initial weapon.

“Chen, stop whatever you’re doing. Right now.”

His voice came out icily firm, but Chen only shook his head, dropping it to stare at the unconscious boy beneath him.

“No, Baek. We can’t let him suffer. I’ll do it for you.”

There was a glint of metal, and Baekhyun knew he had only a second to react. He didn’t see what else he could do, so he outstretched his hands and took a deep breath. With a whir of energy and a flash of violet light, Chen was thrown across the room and pinned against the wall, his limbs chained to the sides by an invisible force.

Baekhyun dropped beside the victim and dropped weapon, steadying himself. Mindful to keep the charm on Chen holding strong, he positioned his hands over the boy’s stomach. Pain and fatigue ripped through his body as he used nearly the last of his energy, but the bleeding ceased and the harsh wound attempted to heal, skin crawling to crudely knit itself back together. He stopped halfway, knowing that the boy would need major medication to stop any infections, but also knowing that he’d be an absolute fool to leave himself completely helpless in the middle of the forest at night.

Standing up again, he silently moved to stand in front of Chen, reaching out to hold his brother’s jaw firmly.

“You promise me you won’t kill him.”

Chen smiled slyly.

“And why should I do that?”

Baekhyun blinked twice, then let go of his jaw. He dropped his gaze and clasped his hand together, his fingers trembling. He was so tired.

“Baek?”

When he lifted his eyes to look at Chen again, he saw his brother. His face was soft and open, eyebrows slanted in worry and eyes apologetic. Suddenly, they were children again. Chen was looking to him to forgive, to take care of him. The only problem was that Baekhyun had seen this face countless times, but it never lasted more than a moment.

“Chen Chen,” he started softly, “I know you get lonely out here by yourself, and… I’m sorry for that. I wish I could spend more time with you, but the King always needs me, and it’s too dangerous to visit often. But I also know you need human interaction, to keep you more… yourself.”

He paused, gazing into his brother’s face imploringly.

“So, please understand that I just wanted you to have someone to talk with, to play with when I can’t be here. I know you’re disappointed that it can’t be me to spend time with you, but… please. Please try for me. I love you, but I need to know that you can be okay without me here all the time. I need to know that you won’t kill that boy the minute I leave. Can you promise me that?”

Chen stared back at him, not letting any emotion reach his face, but nodded slowly, bowing his head slightly.

“Yes, I promise you I won’t kill him.”

Baekhyun let out a breath of relief that he hadn’t been aware he was harboring. Maybe this could work, if he could really get across to him.

“Do I have to promise to not let him get killed by anything else?”

Baekhyun huffed in annoyance as Chen smiled cheekily at him, the glimmer back in his previously subdued gaze. He shook his head, refusing to play any more games, and turned away.

“Aw, come on Baek,” his brother half said half sang, an obviously amused lilt to his words, “I was just playing!”

“You play too much.”

Baekhyun was suddenly very tired. This visit hadn’t turned out anything like how he thought it would. He had been so sure that Chen was getting better…

He looked up to his brother, who simply giggled in response, as remorseless as a child who had got caught with a cookie jar.

Sighing to keep himself from blowing up at him, Baekhyun removed the rest of Chen’s items from his bag, until only the things destined for the palace were left. He peeked out the window to see the twisted silhouettes of trees against a dark cherry sky. The lack of light and over-usage of his magic was taking a toll on his strength, but Baekhyun knew that he had to pull through. Slinging his bag onto his shoulder and wiping any bloodstains from his fingers, he turned to Chen.

“I’m going back to the palace. I’ll bring some medication back for him,” he informed him, nodding to the very limp, pale body between them. “But I won’t be able to get back tonight, it’s too dark already. Try to keep him alive till morning.”

He moved to leave; his mind and body both ready to be out of the house. When had the day come that he felt more distress being around his brother than happiness? When had their interactions become a game of unpredictability rather than a cohesive partnership?

“Baek?”

Baekhyun slowly turned around when he heard Chen softly call his name. He still stood against the wall as if paralyzed, even though Baekhyun had since dropped the charm. Chen’s signature curling smile enveloped his face, appearing both as the sweet, familiar smile he’d grown up with, and something altogether different.

“Thank you for the present.”

Baekhyun nodded, plastering a fake smile to his face and giving Chen a small wave. Then, lifting his much lighter bag and sneaking Chen’s bloody dagger into his waistcoat’s inner pocket, Baekhyun left his brother and the dying boy behind.


	3. love and war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone -- just letting you guys know that this isn't really a new chapter, i'm just reposting everything here from where i originally posted it on asianfanfics :) but a new chapter should be coming quite soon! hope you enjoy x

The palace halls were teeming with the usual activity; merchants flooded into the inner markets, setting up their booths for the day before the gates were opened officially for the plebian public; the palace cooks rushed towards the dining halls with full hands, scolding others for knocking into their trays laden with hot breakfast dishes and the freshest produce; ladies and gentlemen of the court were nowhere to be seen, preferring to sleep late in the luxurious accommodations gifted to them, but their servants were already setting up their daily game of croquet to be held after morning tea.

Levels below, the Royal Guard held its morning meeting, allocating duties, rounds, and positions to its junior members; maids distributed newly cleaned linens and clothing to the suites of their masters, ensuring that each shoe was shined and buffed splendidly; outside, gardeners tended to the endless array of decorative trees and shrubbery, making sure every last rose was pruned to perfection.

With it’s visually splendid exterior, bustling interior, seemingly efficient workers, and constantly circulating guard, the jewel of the Heart Kingdom was as alive and vibrant as it had ever been, away from the sickening decay of the surrounding land. Or at least that’s what one would think from the outside looking in.

The group of officials that now sat around one of the finest tables in the most comfortable of the meeting halls knew differently. Each of them stood as a figurehead for the ten sectors the Heart Kingdom was split into, and each had noticed disturbing changes. Their servants and advisors had seen the effects of the surrounding decay, had warned them against the consequences of inaction, so they had come to try and remedy it before it was too late. They only waited on the King, who had surprisingly yet to join them.

Just outside the meetings rooms, the officials’ personal guards laid in wait, gossiping amongst themselves of the rumors they’d been hearing at their respective manors. When one of the more impatient officials grew wary of waiting, the guards argued over who would go to fetch the King and potentially incur his wrath. Eventually, the captain of the King’s own Royal Guard volunteered.

Making his way towards the royal chambers, the guard willed that the King would be in good temperament. He had a fairly concrete feeling about what, or rather who was keeping him so long, but he just hoped that the King wouldn’t behead him on sight for knowing.

 

.   .   .

 

Outside in the halls the world was in constant motion, but just across the threshold of the king’s suite, the world had stopped spinning, a sweet and gentle silence enveloping the place.

Kai wriggled his toes and stretched under the soft duck-down blankets, willing himself to get out of bed. He’d been awake for awhile now and should have gotten moving some time ago, but his mornings usually began in the gloomy confines of the guards’ barracks, so he wanted to savor the change of scenery for as long as he could.

Kai shifted onto his side and reached out, wrapping an arm around his fiancé’s slim waist as carefully as possible. Kyungsoo tended to wake on the crankier side, especially as of late, so he let him sleep for a few moments longer. Kai gently pushed back a lock of Kyungsoo's dyed black hair, delicately caressed the smooth line of his jaw, barely thumbed over his maddeningly full lips. He could feel his heart fluttering just from the sight of him, but the feeling wasn’t anything new.

Looking at him like this, the only light filtering into the room from the pale glow of the sun streaming through the semi-sheer curtains, Kai felt as if he was looking at the young boy he’d fallen in love with years ago. Time and different pressures had changed the both of them in countless ways, but at these silent, private times, it felt like they were back in the rose gardens, just first starting to see each other as more than strangers. Just first starting to question what they could really be to each other.

 

_“What do you think falling in love would be like?”_

_The question had initially caught Kai off guard. The flower tribes were in no way shy about feelings and affection, but acts of love were so normalized amongst his friends (he couldn’t begin to count the number of harmless touches and kisses he had shared with Taemin growing up) that it almost left no room in Kai’s mind to consider what would make true romance different._

_It was even more peculiar to think that this question was coming from Kyungsoo. He hadn’t known the boy for long, although he dropped by more and more often to walk and chat on Kai’s days off, but he was typically so silent and hard to reach that Kai questioned his reasons for visiting at all. He had a thought as to why, of course, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. After all, he barely knew him._

_Still, Kai wanted to give the boy an honest answer. He thought about it for a long time, scuffing his bare feet against the grasses they now sat in, and then finally turned to answer._

_“I think it will feel like spending time with your best friend, like your favorite family member,” he replied slowly, blinking up at the sky if only to avoid Kyungsoo’s strong gaze (that was doing odd things to his stomach). “It should be someone who makes you feel safe, someone who you want to share everything with, even the bad stuff. Even your craziest ideas. I think being in love should affect every part of your life, every part of your soul and mind. It should make you strive to be better, for them and for the rest of the world. It should be someone who you can grow with,” he took a deep breath as he finished, meeting the boys eyes once again, “Someone you want to make new dreams with.”_

 

A smile tugged at his lip as he watched Kyungsoo sleep. Kai could remember what he’d looked like in that moment even now. He wasn’t the strong, austere King that now laid before him, but youthful, inquisitive, and free, the passion in his quiet soul as prominent as his then red hair. But even though he hadn’t held the same grace and power that he did now as King, he’d always had such a strong effect on Kai.

When Kai had finished answering his question, he had looked to Kyungsoo, anxious to see if there would be judgment or boredom brooding in his dark eyes, afraid that he would call him stupid for being so idealistic. That he would write him off as just another thoughtless child, and not bother coming back to visit him. But that wasn’t what had happened at all. 

 

_The boy smiled at him, one of his small, subtle smiles that felt like he was telling Kai a secret, something for only him to know and keep._

_Kai looked away, suddenly shy that he had answered so thoroughly._

_“And you?” he had asked, wanting to deflect any more of the Kyungsoo’s unwavering attention. “What do you think love is like?”_

_As soon as Kai asked the question he’d regretted it. He didn’t expect half the answer he had given -- it just didn’t fit the boy’s private demeanor -- but Kai was also very nervous about what Kyungsoo would say. For some reason, he desperately wanted it to be something in line with his own thoughts. In line with his own heart. He held his breath as the boy smirked, breaking eye contact and looking away, back up at the clear sky above._

_“I try not to guess.”_

_It was not the answer he would have liked. Crestfallen and with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Kai only nodded in response. He pulled at the grass between them, letting the sounds of the nature around them fill in the silence that had settled. He was just about to excuse himself when he felt his stomach flip at the sensation of the boy interlacing his smaller fingers with Kai’s own._

_Lifting his gaze, Kai tried to remain calm, but he couldn’t completely crush the small ache of hope that had arose in his chest. It was ignited further when he saw that the boy was staring back at him, dark eyes warm as the earth beneath them, full lips smiling softly as the breeze that tickled their bare skin. Kai held his breath as those same lips parted to speak._

_“I only hope that it will be all that you say.”_

 

His heart swelled at the memory. Leaning over the other, Kai gently pressed his lips to Kyungsoo’s, just barely resting atop him, unmoving, and tried not to smile as his lover shifted underneath him.

“Jong… ennrghh,” Kyungsoo attempted to mutter before giving up and ever so slightly pressing back into the kiss. Kai let himself get lost in the feeling of those plush lips for a few long moments, then pulled back and smiled down at his lover. Kyungsoo stared back at him groggily, but he looked peaceful with his slightly puffy eyes, face flushed with sleep, and soft limbs tangled in the silk sheets between them.

“Good morning, my love,” Kai whispered, brushing the fringe from Kyungsoo’s forehead as the smaller sat up, seeming to fully come to his senses. Kai moved closer to him, climbing into his lap and pulling a sheet across the boy’s narrow shoulders so it wrapped around the both of them. When Kyungsoo leaned further into his embrace, Kai began to pepper soft kisses down the side of his jaw and neck, nipping gently with his lips over the smooth areas and barely pecking the places that still held marks from the night before.  

He stopped regretfully when Kyungsoo pulled back, strong hands securing his waist as he held him on his lap. Kyungsoo’s brooding gaze searched his own before he spoke.

“You shouldn’t still be here.”

Kyungsoo’s statement sat coldly in the air, and Kai could only sigh as reality descended upon him. He knew the peaceful moment wouldn’t last, but it always ended more shortly than he expected.

“That’s really the first thing you have to say to me this early in the morning?” Kai attempted to retort playfully, pushing a piece of dark hair out of his fiancé’s face and dropping his hands to stroke gently at his jaw. “Even when I’m in this compromising position?”

Kyungsoo only frowned at his remark, catching hold of Kai’s wrist and firmly anchoring him. Kai pouted, but didn’t attempt to repeat the action. At least he’d tried to save the mood.

“It’s dangerous. What if someone came in here?”

Kai dropped his gaze, wanting to remark that no one, not even an upper official, would dare burst into a King’s chambers, but knowing that it wouldn’t help Kyungsoo’s mood. He was just worried for him. But that knowledge somehow didn’t soothe the burn of his rigid words. Still, Kai kept his hurt and frustration to himself, knowing he should use gentler means to express his sincerity.

“I know we agreed that I’d go back late last night… but I just couldn’t,” he started softly, lightly tugging his wrist out of the other’s grip so that he could firmly hold his hand instead. Lifting his eyes to lock stares with Kyungsoo, he smiled sadly at the guarded, serious face before him. “It’s one thing to sleep alone when I don’t see you for weeks, but it’s another thing entirely when I can still feel you on me… I couldn’t bear to not see you when I woke up. I’m sorry.”

When Kyungsoo failed to respond the room fell quiet.

It had been a hard number of years hiding their relationship from the palace officials, and Kai had initially fought against it. Back then, he couldn’t understand how Kyungsoo could bear to cover them up, how he could pretend like he didn’t even know him when they passed each other in the dining halls.

But that was at first, and now Kai understood the necessity. The fragile peace that was being held between the two kingdoms of Wonderland had just begun, and it was no time to announce an engagement, especially when the King was engaged to be married to a commoner with no allegiance to any of the four original kingdoms. It wouldn’t go over well with the public, and Kai could be labeled a target for usurpers.

Still, that knowledge did nothing to keep him warm at night.

Kai could feel his shoulders drooping sadly as Kyungsoo silently played with his fingers, obviously mulling over a response. He knew it was only a matter of time before Kyungsoo would ask him to leave. He’d say it softly, carefully, and with a dozen kisses in-between the bed and door, but he’d still have to leave. And later, when the guards did their weekly training under the King’s inspection, the stare Kai received would be cold, indifferent. Kai swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.

Knowing he would get too emotional if he sat in his embrace any longer, Kai gently removed Kyungsoo’s arms, moving back and removing himself from their spot on the bed. He dressed silently, pulling on the boots, jacket, and scabbard that distinguished his position in the Royal Guard. When he had finished and fixed the mess that his hair had become, he walked back over to where Kyungsoo sat watching him.

Kyungsoo was always mindful of keeping his expression neutral, his eyes blank, but Kai could see through the years of social training and royal composure. He hated to see Kyungsoo closed off when he was obviously upset, at rare times even desired Kyungsoo to blow up at him just so he could really see what the other was hiding, but most of the time he knew better.

Kai knew that it was how he managed the distance they had to maintain, the same way that Kai daydreamed about the old days, the way he counted the days and weeks in between their next meeting on the wall beside his narrow bed. Shutting down was what his fiancé needed to do to survive, and Kai respected that, even if he could never emulate the same.

Looking down at him, Kai ran a hand through Kyungsoo’s hair, thumbed the shell of his ear, knowing that any vocal statements of affection were unneeded. When Kyungsoo leaned ever so slightly into his palm, Kai smiled, and then tenderly pressed a parting kiss to his forehead.

Just as he began to pull away, a loud knocking came from the other side of the door so suddenly that both Kai and Kyungsoo visibly startled, looking rapidly to each other as they realized their intimate stance.

Kyungsoo recovered first, rising from the bed and pointing to the corner of his room, where a large wardrobe sat with just enough space between it and the wall for a slim person to fit.

Kai nodded wordlessly, quickly moving to hide himself as Kyungsoo moved to the door. In that moment, every subtle mark he had left on the room seemed blaringly obvious; His discarded water glass on the mantelpiece, the small indent in his side of the bed, even the yellow flowers that he had brought in from the gardens nearly a week ago – all of it seemed to scream of his presence. Knowing he could do nothing about it now, Kai took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

He focused in on Kyungsoo’s movements when he heard the opening of the door, breathing out a sigh of relief when he heard the familiar voice.

“Good morning, my liege.”

“Minho, it’s you,” Kyungsoo announced in thinly veiled surprise as the captain of his Royal Guard stood in the doorway. “What is the meaning of your call so early in the morning?”

Minho bowed respectfully before answering.

“I beg your pardon, your highness, but I was sent by the Lords’ Council to come and fetch you. They have been waiting in the meeting hall for some time now and have grown impatient.”

Kyungsoo’s brow furrowed as he composed himself, hands clasped tightly behind his back as he stared at the guard.

“Why are they here early? This meeting was to be arranged two weeks from now.”

Minho nodded vigorously.

“Yes, it was originally set for then, but there were concerning actions taking place in the kingdom that were brought to the Lords’ attention, so they thought it best to push up the date. They’ve been waiting nearly an hour.”

“These are busy men. What kind of concerns could bring such a shift in schedules?”

The King’s question was more rhetorical than not, but Minho still answered, oblivious.

“They say it is concerning the Spade Kingdom and possible attacks along the division. It is of utmost importance that they speak with you.”

Kai pursed his lips in concern. The attacks must have been serious if it prompted the Lords to rearrange their hectic schedules. He leaned out as far as he dared to hear them better.

Kyungsoo continued to bore into the rather anxious guard, unmoving and unimpressed.

“And why was I not informed of this change?”

The King’s voice was flat and obviously aggravated. Minho went bug-eyed and dipped his head in apology, a surprised expression sitting on his face.

“My apologies, your highness, Baekhyun had assured the guard that he would inform you of the changes when we received them some days ago. I would have told you myself, but I didn’t want to step out of bounds. I do apologize—”

“That’s enough,” Kyungsoo curtly interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation, “It isn’t your fault my advisor’s an idiot. You may return to your barracks for morning drills.”

Minho bowed quickly, but paused before taking his leave.

“Does your highness not want a guard to accompany you to the meeting hall?”

Kyungsoo stared back icily.

“Do you not think your King capable of navigating his own halls?”

Minho’s already protruding eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Not at all, my liege! I simply wished to offer any assistance possible, as all the Lords have selected guards to sit in on the council.”

Kyungsoo waved the guard off.

“That shall not be necessary, Captain. Now, dismissed.”

Minho bowed once, then again even more deeply, before making his way back down the hall that led to the guards’ barracks. He walked slowly on until he heard the click of the King’s door latch, assuring Minho that he had fully retreated into his chambers. Then, with a quick scan of the hall, he swiftly changed course for the cleaners’ private staircase, which eventually lead out to the stables.

Back in Kyungsoo’s bedroom, Kai emerged from the wardrobe he’d been hiding behind. Kyungsoo was silently seething, his annoyance evident in the systematic, rough way he was dressing himself. Kai moved to touch Kyungsoo’s arm, to ask him if everything was okay, but the boy must have sensed him reaching and stepped back.

“Are you ready? You have to leave now.”

The voice that prompted him now was completely stripped of the playful, red-haired youth of Kai’s memories. This was purely King D.O addressing him, cold, and blunt, and aloof. Kai kept his hands to his side, frustration at the sudden change in demeanor threatening to take control of his actions.

“Yes, I could leave now,” Kai complied, but lifted his eyes to firmly lock with the other’s, “but I could also come with you.”

Kyungsoo immediately gave a firm shake of the head.

“No. It’s too obvious. You’ll go back to the barracks for morning drills.”

“It’s not too obvious,” Kai protested, the rare feeling of stubbornness taking hold of him, “Minho just said all the Lords are having their personal guards sit in on the council. Why should the King not do the same?”

“I already denied his assistance. It would look strange to bring you with me after doing so. You have to go back to the barracks.”

“And you don’t think it will look strange that I come in late to training after being gone all night? Or if someone sees me outside in the halls when I leave your suite?”

When Kyungsoo didn’t immediately respond, Kai took the chance to continue his plight.

“What would a Royal Knight be doing alone and roaming the upper halls during morning training if he wasn’t security for the King? Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to leave together, me as your personal guard? It is perfectly reasonable for the King to keep a guard overnight for his protection, but less so if that guard is caught sneaking out in the morning.”

Kai paused, not entirely sure where this sense of persistence was coming from.  Usually he agreed to whatever Kyungsoo decided, his expertise in social politics and secrecy far outmatching Kai’s, but he just couldn’t today. He wanted to sit in on that council and for once to be let in the loop.

“Please,” he finished, voice softening and hand reaching out to successfully rest on Kyungsoo’s arm, “Just trust me to do this.”

Kyungsoo stiffened under the contact, but didn’t attempt to move away again. It was a long few seconds before he replied, breaking their stare and looking off somewhere behind him.

“The Lord’s council is no place for a Rose. You will not like what we talk about.”

Kai sighed in relief as Kyungsoo conceded. He nodded his head in thanks, accepting his fiancé’s warning.

“Maybe so, but at least this way I’ll know what’s going on. And I’m not just a Rose,” he tacked on as Kyungsoo moved away to put on the last of his garb.

Kyungsoo looked up at him questioningly.

“I’m a member of the Royal Guard, too. I can handle this.”

Kyungsoo sighed.

“If you say so. Just promise me one thing.”

Kai nodded, curious as Kyungsoo came back towards him, dark eyes pleading behind the dispassionate façade he kept up.

“Just remain quiet. Blend in with the guards and be obedient to the other Lords, no matter how trivial the request.”

Kai nodded, not surprised at the expectations. It was exactly how he acted now when there were royal visitors or military of higher rank than him. What did jolt him a bit was how tender Kyungsoo’s fingers tracing his face were, juxtaposed to the dark steel that had taken over his gaze.

“We may talk about things not meant for people of a gentle nature to hear… Not meant for good people like you to hear. So no matter where the conversation leads, or how terrible it sounds,” Kyungsoo continued, dropping his hand and turning towards the door, “Know that I’m only doing my duty as King.”

 

.   .   .

 

Kai stood against the wall of the meeting hall with the other chosen guards, a few paces behind where Kyungsoo now sat at a long table with the ten Lords of the Heart Kingdom. All of the officials and guards’ wore the garb of their respective communities, along with the ruby-incrusted lapel pin that showcased their allegiance to the King. Kai fingered his own nervously, feeling wildly out of place.

Kai had trained himself to stand tall like a guard should, to keep his face unassuming and eyes sharp, and to exude a silent power with just the lines of his body, but the Lords and other guards had still immediately picked him out when he’d entered the room, their stares boring through his armor more effectively than the swords it was meant to protect from.

Kai had expected it; No practice or training could hide the blush pink tone of his hair and matching eyes, no collared jackets or gleaming daggers could detract from the almost ethereal shine that emanated from his deeply bronzed skin, and Kai had never been able to fully shake his accent that was so evidently of the flower tribes. He knew he would never properly blend in with the people of the Heart Kingdom, but it did always unsettle him when people so obviously agreed.

Thankfully, once everyone had been properly situated, Kyungsoo deflected the attention onto himself.

“Thank you for joining me, gentleman. I apologize for my tardiness, but it seems there were some misunderstandings in communication,” Kyungsoo paused, an annoyed flicker lighting up his dark gaze. “I understand that our meeting was moved up due to some concerns in your respective communities. Who will be the first to share what they’ve seen?”

He gestured to the ten men seated around him, waiting until one of them stood. Kai recognized him as Lord Jinhoo of the 2nd sector, a modest community of mostly tradesman.

“I will, my liege.”

Kyungsoo gestured for him to continue.

“It is not so much what I have seen as it is what my community has heard, especially among traveling merchants,” Lord Jinhoo began quietly, mindful of the others’ reactions, “They say there has been serious talk about the King of the Spade Kingdom, and future actions that will have negative effects for our people.” 

Kyungsoo frowned.

“Negative effects to what extent?”

“My community is concerned of the Spade Kingdom’s greed for land and resources,” Lord Jinhoo continued, voice growing more confident as a few of the others nodded along to his statement, “and they have witnessed a growing number of skirmishes along the border, some of which have ended quite… violently. They say the Spades have grown restless and do not plan to stop.”

“There has been growing violence in my sector, as well,” Lord Bitto of the 4th sector suddenly spoke up.

“And mine,” came the voice of another Lord.

“In mine as well.”

Kai knew he was not meant to react, but he couldn’t help but stare as each and every official spoke out, agreeing with Lord Jinhoo’s statements. Kai looked to Kyungsoo, who had grown subtly stiffer with each new confirmation.

The room was quiet as Kyungsoo watched them. His eyes were calculating, his body still when he finally posed his question.

“What do you fear, gentleman?” 

When no one moved to respond, silenced by the emotionless inquiry, Kyungsoo continued.

“There has always been violence along the border. That is nothing new, and nothing that we cannot fix with more security on both sides. There have always been the growing flames of rumors, whether they focus on the Spades or myself… but nothing that we can not stamp out.”

Kai frowned at the statement and the nodding that followed, phrased so casually and so easily received. What did Kyungsoo mean by that?

“If I may speak, my liege?” Lord Gyujin, one of the quietest of the ten reached out.

Kyungsoo nodded, intrigued.

“Nobody wants to hear this, I know, but it must be said,” Lord Gyujin spoke evenly and loudly enough so that no guard, no matter how well trained, could pretend to ignore him, “The violence we have seen is too common, too spread out… too systematic. I believe the Spade Kingdom is gearing up for all out war.”

Kai gasped, immediately dropping his gaze to hide his reaction. Luckily for him at least half the room had a similar reaction. The Heart Kingdom had held a fairly consistent reign of peace since Kyungsoo’s coronation three years ago. What could have happened to change that so suddenly?

Kyungsoo shook his head, gesturing dismissively with one falsely calm hand.

“I have never had problems with King Huang. He respected my father when he was king. He has always respected the Heart Kingdom, even when we were at war. He accepted the conditions of the peace pact and has never moved to break it. Why should he now?”

Lord Gyujin leaned forward, silently imploring Kyungsoo to listen.

“We all know this, my King. His time for greedy, reckless fights and power has passed. It is not King Huang we are concerned with… it is his son.”

Kai startled as Kyungsoo suddenly laughed, a dry and emotionless sound that fell on serious ears. Looking around at the other officials, Kai felt his stomach tighten. Though they were all composed and draped in fake confidence, Kai could see the obvious flicker of fear in their eyes.

“This is nothing to laugh over, my liege,” Lord Wooshin of the 5th sector cut in, obviously aggravated by Kyungsoo’s laissez-faire attitude, “Prince Tao has grown more active in Spade politics. There are some rumors that say he is now running their entire military, if not the crown itself.”

Kyungsoo raised one aggravated eyebrow in Lord Wooshin’s direction, rising from his chair so he could more powerfully address him.

“Sometimes rumors are just that. Why would King Huang allow his brat to run amuck, setting fire to any place he so chooses?” Kyungsoo fired back, effectively winding the man up if his clenching fists were anything to go by.

Kai gripped his side dagger as Lord Wooshin’s guard stared him down dangerously.  The other Lords were having non-verbal conversations with each other as they watched the King and Lord Wooshin spar. 

“If I may speak, my lord,” Lord Xiao, the youngest of the ten and ruler of sector one, the smallest of them all, quickly interjected.

Kyungsoo’s gaze didn’t leave Lord Wooshin, but he nodded to show his permission.

“The word in my community is that King Huang is sick, and growing sicker by the day. I would not be surprised if Prince Tao is preparing to take the throne… but I am concerned,” Lord Xiao paused, eyebrows knotting together as he looked to the others, lingering there before bravely meeting Kyungsoo’s stare. “And I think it would be a mistake to underestimate him.”

“It is not that I underestimate the man,” Kyungsoo calmly droned, “It is that I have no reason to believe that he means us harm. Since the Clubs and Diamonds were conquered and split between us, the Heart Kingdom has no reason to attack the Spades. The same should hold for them, should it not?”

“If it were not for the prophecy, yes.”

The room became hushed as Lord Xiao answered, even Lord Wooshin forgetting about the fiery staring contest between the King and him. All the people in the room turned to Kyungsoo as Lord Xiao waited for a response.

Kyungsoo was no longer smiling. Unlike Kai, who could barely keep himself from outright asking Lord Xiao what he meant, Kyungsoo seemingly understood where the conversation was headed.

“You expect me to base my politics and war plans on that basis? You think I believe in fairytales?”

“Of course not, my liege, and neither do any of the men here,” came Lord Xiao’s rapid response, unfazed by Kyungsoo’s cold question. Kai wasn’t sure if the statement rang true, based on the nervous and avoiding eyes of the surrounding Lords.

“Then why bring it up?”

“Because, my King,” Lord Xiao answered, “just because you know better doesn’t mean that Prince Tao does. If he believes, or even just wishes to use it as an excuse to seize power, he could come after us.”

“So you wish to strike before he does.”

Kai watched confused as Lord Xiao nodded, sitting further back in his seat after having said his piece. The other Lords made no moves to speak as a brooding silence fell over the room, all of them waiting for Kyungsoo to continue. Kai could feel his stomach start to knot from the nervous energy buzzing about the room.

Finally, Kyungsoo lowered himself back into his chair. Kai swore for a second that Kyungsoo’s dark gaze darted towards him, but before he could lock eyes with him his fiancé began to speak.

“As King I have final say on this matter,” Kyungsoo sat back, eyes as blank as his monotone voice, “but I shall hear you all once. Tell me your stance, starting with the largest sector. Lord Hwanhee, please begin.”

The room watched silently as the husky-voiced man moved to speak.  

“I wish to protect the kingdom,” Lord Hwanhee carefully worded, not daring to look at Kyungsoo directly, “by whichever means possible.”

“I feel the same,” came Lord Sunyoul’s addition.

“And I.”

“Agreed.”

The Lords sounded off their agreements, Lord Wooshin noticeably abstaining, until only Lord Xiao was left.

Before he could speak, Kyungsoo turned to address him.

“I believe we know where you stand, Lord Xiao,” Kyungsoo stated to an obliging Lord Xiao, who was obviously relieved that he wouldn’t need to repeat himself. Turning slightly to Lord Wooshin, he continued on, “However, I take you have more to add. It is not like you to abstain.”

Lord Wooshin nodded, an arrogant smirk crossing his lips.

“May I speak frankly?”

“You always do,” came Kyungsoo’s bored response.

“You know me too well, my King,” Lord Wooshin grinned, and Kai couldn’t help but think it looked more like a feral cat bearing it’s teeth than a colleague’s smile. Lord Wooshin stood to properly address the Lords.

“Gentlemen, you know me. You know I don’t jump into things,” he paused, smirk deepening when there were multiple accounts of stifled murmurs. Lord Wooshin was known for getting his hands into as much as he could, so much so that it had become necessary to remind him that he was solely the Lord of _one_ sector of the Heart Kingdom.

“Well, maybe I do keep myself busy,” he started again amiably, “but I have always been calculative and precise in my moves, much research and thought going into each decision.”

Kai watched as all the Lords and even a begrudging Kyungsoo nodded along in agreement. Though a bit of a hot head, it was unquestionable that Lord Wooshin had incredible insight when it came to decision-making in politics. His sector always had the lowest rate of crime, breaches in security, and polled complaints.

“Keeping that in mind, know that nothing has changed with how I am approaching this situation,” Lord Wooshin’s voice suddenly dropped, his bragging and carefree demeanor suddenly very serious, “I have listened to what my community has told me. I’ve monitored where problems are occurring, how much time passes between each one. I’ve noted the tactics that each group of attackers uses, communicated all these findings with several of you from other communities, and now I am assured of one thing.”

He paused, making sure to lock eyes with Kyungsoo before continuing his spiel.

“We are being tested, and from the rate that the violence is increasing, I am sure that the Spades believe that we will fail.”

Several of the Lords began to mutter amongst themselves. Kai inched subtly towards Kyungsoo, who sat tensely in his seat, fingers looking as if they might put dents into his arm rests. Not a moment later, Kyungsoo lifted a hand to shush them, effectively quieting the room again.

“Make your point, Wooshin,” Kyungsoo drawled, eyes flashing as he dropped the honorifics, “I grow weary of your dramatics.”

Lord Wooshin didn’t miss a beat, smiling down at the King as he put his hands up defensively.

“Not a problem, my liege.”

Nearly slamming his fist down onto the table, Lord Wooshin’s face no longer held any of the amiable charm he’d made use of previously. Kyungsoo didn’t even flinch at the show, but it was obvious that the Lord had the rest of the room’s attention.

“I say we crush them now, while we still can. We’re all thinking it, but I’ll be the first to put it into words. We should declare war. We have a larger, more organized military. We have more land, and more people on the crucial parts of the border. If we strike now, the Spades wouldn’t stand a chance, and the entirety of Wonderland would be yours, _my liege_.”

Kai felt his blood still as Lord Wooshin nearly spat the words out. Turning to the guards around him, Kai tried to find a face that was as shocked as he felt. But everyone was like stone, emotionless and unreactive to the harsh words being thrown around.

“But we don’t yet know which groups have organized the attacks,” Lord Xiao interjected logically, re-capturing Kai’s attention, “We don’t know which Spade officials or districts we should target.”

Lord Wooshin shook his head in response.

“It doesn’t matter, they are all limbs from one body. As any of our actions reflect directly on King D.O, it is the same with King Huang. All of these conflicts reflect the desires of the Spade Crown. We must take out all of them.”

“And the communities?” Lord Hwanhee, who had mostly been quiet during the discussion, piped up nervously, “Their military is not big enough to support a full-fledged war. They will have the common folk move to protect them.”

Lord Wooshin sighed.

“This is war, my friend,” Lord Wooshin addressed him condescendingly, “We have no control as to how they use their people. We will remove the Spade government, and anyone else that gets in our way.”

“You’re not proposing we just mow down every Spade citizen, Lord Wooshin,” Lord Xiao commented, eyebrows raised in disbelief, “That’s extreme even for you.”

“War is extreme,” Lord Wooshin growled back, “And we won’t have to. The rest will cede once we make an example of the first. What are a few hundred, even thousand people in the face of a united Kingdo—”

“You have no right to do that!”

The room fell completely silent after the interruption, and Kai stood in a mix of anger, shock, and sinking dread as he realized he was the one who’d spoken.

Having moved forward when he’d interrupted, Kai stood directly next to Kyungsoo in the middle of the room, where everyone’s eyes were now glued. Lord Wooshin was the first to recover, his anger at being disturbed breaking him out of the shock.

“Who gave you permission to speak, guard?” he spat at Kai, moving from his side of the table to confront him. When Kai stood still, unresponsive and eyes downcast, Lord Wooshin shoved at his shoulder.

“Gentlemen, stop this,” Kyungsoo commanded, finally recovering, “Kai, stand down.”

“Kai, is it?” Lord Wooshin continued, ignoring Kyungsoo, reaching out to finger the heart shaped lapel pin that distinguished his position, “And a Royal Guard at that. Do you have no respect?”

Kai bit his lip hard, shaking from the foreign anger that Lord Wooshin was drawing out of him. He knew he shouldn’t respond and just let the Lord say what he willed to avoid any more conflict. He hadn’t meant to speak up in the first place, but the way people’s lives were being discussed so casually – Kai didn’t think he’d ever witnessed anything so ugly.

Lord Wooshin smirked down at him, taking his silence for acquiesce.

“Nothing to say now? Maybe not disrespectful so much as just stupid,” he snarled at him before winking over at lord Jihoo, cocky now that he’d won their confrontation. “Can’t blame him though, the pink-eyed mutts obviously not from around here. Probably had no one to teach him about respecting your masters.”

And Kai wasn’t ever one for conflict, but the boiling effect that Lord Wooshin had on his blood was just too great to handle.

“I have about as much respect for you as you do for the lives of those people you plan on murdering.”

Kai was suddenly very grateful for the dancing he’d done growing up paired with the intense training he’d endured while in the guard, because it made him swift enough to narrowly avoid Lord Wooshin’s fist. Several of the guards removed themselves from their still positions when their respective Lords either moved to stop Lord Wooshin or moved to join him, and Kai found himself desperately searching for an exit before an arm reached out to stop him.

“If everyone in this room is not back in their respective seats and positions by the time I sheath my sword, I’m afraid we will no longer have a Lords Council.”

Kyungsoo’s seething voice was barely above a whisper, but heard by all as men began to stand down, wary of Kyungsoo’s armed hands where Kai’s long sword was now held. Kai held Lord Wooshin’s heated gaze as the man passed him.

“I have heard all that I need to hear,” Kyungsoo continued once everyone had settled, voice harsh and commanding, “and I will inform you immediately once I make my decision. All of you return to your communities, reflect on what has happened here today. It will not happen at our next meeting.”

Kai swallowed at the thinly veiled threat, hoping that it wasn’t also directed towards him.

 

.   .   .

 

Kai maintained his stoic visage as he followed Kyungsoo down to the barracks, but on the inside his stomach was in knots. Lord Wooshin’s proposition, and the fact that none of the Lords had opposed it, had shaken him terribly. How could they possibly think starting a war was the answer to their current problems?

He looked to Kyungsoo, not surprised to find the King’s face blank, but body taut in silent tension. Kai frowned deeply, feeling guilty for having caused such a scene but feeling more on edge about the reason for it.  

And how could Kyungsoo not have shot down the proposition immediately?

When they reached an empty hall far away enough from the main floor, Kai decided to ponder it aloud. He stopped walking.

“You can’t possibly be considering this.”

Kyungsoo stopped as well, an when he turned Kai was shocked to see him visibly simmering, jaw clenched and hands balled into fists at his side. His fiancé was always so well composed that the sight of his anger almost made Kai forget how frustrated he was with him. He took a step towards the smaller man.

“What’s wrong? Kyungs—”

“Don’t call me that out here,” Kyungsoo whispered lowly, taking a solid step back and effectively shutting Kai up. “What’s wrong? I deliberately told you to say nothing. You challenged my authority by speaking back to Lord Wooshin, and I allowed it by not punishing you in front of them.”

Kai swallowed the angry response that was forming in his throat, knowing that thoughtless retaliation would get him nowhere. Instead, he took a quick breath, keeping the tone of voice as calm as possible.

“I’m thankful for your help, and I’m sorry I undermined you, but I couldn’t just stand there and let you decide to wage war on innocent people.”

“I never decided anything,” Kyungsoo replied, “I just let them be heard. I have to show that I at least considered my options.”

“But war shouldn’t be an option!” Kai protested, mindful not to raise his voice above a whisper. “Talk to King Huang, you have to try to work something out peacefully! That’s the right way to handle this.”

“It may be, _Kai_ ,” Kyungsoo shot back, putting extra emphasis on his name, making him flinch, “but that is not your decision to make. It’s mine. You need to remember that, along with the fact that you’re not an actual guard. You can’t interject in conflicts that you’re not capable of fighting.”

Kai looked at his feet, shutting his eyes to calm himself. The harsh words stung him, but what hurt more was the fact that his fiancé wasn’t letting him help with the bigger issue. Usually, whenever they began to argue over political matters (the few that Kai was privy to) he would back off, not wanting to let Kyungsoo’s job come between their relationship; This time he couldn’t give up so easily.

This wasn’t some petty argument over spending time with one another; this was people’s lives that were at stake.

Kai lifted his gaze, moving closer to Kyungsoo to try again when he heard the familiar sound of boots coming from around the hall’s corner.

Kyungsoo and him exchanged looks, both knowing that the argument couldn’t easily be put to rest. Both accepting the current situation, they stepped apart and resumed their official characters.

It wasn’t but a few more moments before a squadron of guards entered the hall in a line, stopping before the duo and bowing their heads in respect.

Kyungsoo tipped his head as well, formally acknowledging them.

“You may speak.”

“Thank you, my liege,” their leader, who Kai knew to be one of Minho’s co-captains, Jisoo, spoke. “Morning drills have ended. I was just escorting the junior scouts to the eastern villages for patrol.”

“Ah, excellent. It is a very important route,” Kyungsoo praised the group with forced warmth, drawing shy smiles from the scouts, “but actually, Jisoo, I would have you accompany me for my morning rounds of the palace. Kai will escort the scouts from here.”

Jisoo smiled nervously as Kai whipped his head to Kyungsoo in disbelief.

Everyone knew that the eastern villages were a joke to patrol, being virtually ghost towns, no one but a few disabled or elderly living there. It was more a punishment than a duty to watch the junior scouts patrol the area, and one that was far below the rank of a Royal Guard. The only reason Jisoo was responsible for it today was because he nearly burnt the barracks’ kitchen down a week ago for attempting to sauté some illegal mushrooms.

Kai and Jisoo both watched Kyungsoo in hopes that he was joking or would change his mind, but his face remained characteristically blank.

“If you say so, my liege,” Jisoo finally responded, shooting Kai an apologetic look and moving to stand by Kyungsoo’s side.

Kai could feel his cheeks flaming as he took his place in front of the scouts, knowing that their perplexed faces were directed towards him, wondering what he could have possibly done to disappoint the King.

He avoided Kyungsoo’s eyes as he bowed, hurt and fury boiling in his chest, then quickly departed. A couple of the scouts muttered nervously about not being formally dismissed, but none of them questioned him, following his lead as he marched them down the hall, away from Kyungsoo’s regretful stare.

 

.   .   .

 

         Kai had to restrain himself from stomping as they made their way out of the palace and towards the stables to collect their horses. When they got there, the junior scouts hurriedly moved to saddle their steeds, eyeing Kai carefully and doing their best to tiptoe around him.

He felt bad about ignoring them and not being his usual kind self, but he also didn’t want to accidentally snap at them, so he settled on staying silent. Deciding he needed a moment to himself, he informed the scouts that he would return in a few minutes and made his way to the wall that closed the stables in.

The fifteen-foot wall was not so much for security from strangers as it was to keep the horses from running away, so there were no official posts or stairs that led to the top of it. However, Kai had often used the wall as a sort of quiet place as it wasn’t often frequented, especially back in his early days at the palace. Finding the familiar cracks and worn foot holes from the past years, Kai easily scaled the wall, perching atop it and drawing his knees in as he contemplated all that had happened.

Though the whole experience had been mind-boggling and uncomfortable to say the least, the prophecy that Lord Xiao had briefly spoken of bothered Kai the most.

Why had he never heard of it? He’d grown up with countless fairytales back home, some true and some not, but nothing that would relate to the war between the Kingdoms.  What did Kyungsoo know that he didn’t, and why had he never said anything about it?

He shook his head. This was something to address later, when he could speak to Kyungsoo in person, or at least properly contemplate by himself in his bunk. It was not something to focus on when he had a tribe of junior scouts looking to him for leadership.

Kai tried to leave the thought behind him, looking out to forest in hopes that the surrounding nature would calm him.

Kai furrowed his brow as he caught sight of the condition of the distant tree line. Trees that he’d remembered standing strong were now distorted, their limbs twisting and bent into unnatural shapes. Leaves that had once shimmered vibrantly in the sunlight were now dull, drooping against the limbs or piled at the bases.

Kai shifted uncomfortably. It hadn’t been more than a few months since he’d last sat up on his wall, but already the surrounding forest looked drastically different.

He’d heard about the forest’s sickness, of course – he’d even seen some of it’s effects years ago, when him and Taemin teamed up to save some of their tribe’s surrounding plants from a peculiar rot– but it looked as if the poison was spreading faster than before.

Slightly disturbed and no longer finding the perch to be relaxing, Kai moved to get back to his junior team.

Suddenly, just from below him on the outside of the wall, he heard a quiet “oomph!” and the unmistakable clattering of a sword.

Peering over the wall and putting aside his previous worries, Kai stifled a laugh when he saw Minho sprawled out on the ground below. His Captain had obviously been sneaking out, something he did often enough for it not to be strange, and miscalculated the distance between the top of the wall and the ground.

Kai dangled his body over the side until he was hanging by his fingertips, and then gracefully dropped the remaining distance, landing on his feet and grinning at the scowling face that greeted him.

“No one likes a showoff,” Minho grumbled, picking himself up and dusting off his pants. “What are you even doing out here?”

“I’d ask you the same thing,” Kai pointed out, “but I already know. How is Suho, anyway?”

Minho’s eyes lit up when Kai said his boyfriend’s name, obviously forgetting about the previous embarrassment.

Minho had told Kai months ago that the two were dating. It had been necessary, because Minho needed someone high ranking enough to cover up his absence for an extended period of time, and someone private enough to not gossip about the matter among the other guards. Kai, being a Royal Guard and an outsider of the group, became the perfect man for the job.

It worked out for Kai, too, because it meant he had gotten to know Minho better and, after months of camaraderie growing between the two, gained a real friend.

However, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that Minho had told him the bigger secret; Suho wasn’t just a merchant boy from a neighboring community – he was a high-ranking guard of the Spade Kingdom. Initially the news had worried Kai, knowing that Minho could get into major trouble if he was ever found out, but in the end it just made him want to help them more. Out of all the guards, Kai knew he was one of the few without any prejudice against the Spades, and he couldn’t deny the euphoric glint that lit up Minho’s face when he talked about his boyfriend. Kai had felt the same with Kyungsoo, after all.

“He’s doing well,” Minho replied, “but I haven’t been able to visit for weeks cause he’s been so busy. Apparently the King upped the amount of drills…”

But Kai didn’t hear what Minho said next. He was too distracted by the brilliant flash of gold that had just appeared in the sky above them.

Kai blinked rapidly against the impossibly bright light as it violently fell, shooting towards the ground miles from where they now stood, glowing and sputtering fiercely. It streaked across the sky, violent but graceful, like some alien combination of angel and comet. Kai waited for the sound of impact, but when the object finally disappeared from view, all he heard and felt was a sudden whispering of warm wind making its way from within the forest.

Minho and him stood silently as they watched the sky return to its usual opaque pink. Not a moment later, everything appeared as normal, like no flashing comet had ever happened.

“Okay… what the hell was that?” Minho broke their silence, face rightfully confused.

When Kai didn’t respond, the Captain continued.

“That couldn’t have been Baekhyun again, could it?”

Kai shook his head, sure that it wasn’t Kyungsoo’s advisor. It wasn’t uncommon to see the flash of violet the sky every so often, marking the odd boy’s return from a trip to Earth, but he had already arrived the day before. Although Kai hadn’t actually seen Baekhyun return to the palace last night, something in Kai’s gut was telling him this show wasn’t his doing.

“We should tell the King,” Minho muttered, readjusting his sword and moving to scale the wall once again. “I guess I’ll make it up to Suho later. Coming, Kai?”

Kai stared down at the forest, whose trees were slightly swaying in tune with the whispering of the foreign wind. He knew that he should follow Minho, but something stopped him from taking another step.

Something about that peculiar light made him feel the need to find it. If this was indeed not Baekhyun’s doing, then it could mean there was something, or someone else who had similar capabilities. Someone else who had potentially just entered their realm.

“That’s impossible,” Kai whispered to himself.

Nothing like this had ever happened in Wonderland, at least not in Kai’s lifetime. Very few people still had full magical capabilities, and Baekhyun was the only one capable of traveling between worlds. But if Baekhyun wasn’t the cause of this, then who was?

“Hellooo! Kai!”

Kai startled as Minho’s loud voice brought him back to reality.  

“Maybe... maybe we should go check it out,” Kai finally suggested, his curiosity involuntarily pulling him in.

Minho nodded, unsuspecting.

“I’m sure we’ll have to. King D.O will want the Royal Guard on this immediately. We just have to inform him and get the official orders.”

Kai nodded to show understanding, but he also knew that Kyungsoo would never allow him out on this mission, not after what happened earlier that morning with the Lords. Kyungsoo would keep him as his personal guard all day if he had to. Kai frowned, suddenly annoyed at the idea. Looking to the distant tree line, he made his decision.

“You’re right, Captain,” Kai assured him, moving back to stand against the wall, unsheathing his sword and assuming defensive stance one. “I’ll monitor until you come back with the orders.”

Minho nodded in affirmation, immediately trusting him.

“Alright. Be careful, Kai.”

Minho quickly scaled the wall, and Kai waited until he heard the retreating footsteps on the other side before he made for the tree line. He felt a twinge of guilt for blatantly lying to Minho, but he consoled himself with the fact that he’d covered for him and Suho enough times to make up for this tenfold.

Looking to the seemingly peaceful palace behind him and knowing that Kyungsoo would soon be looking for him, Kai sent out a silent apology. Then, he turned and made his way down to the woods, walking straight in the direction where he’d seen the falling star.


	4. descent

Luhan hurt.

He felt blind, his eyes burning from the intense flashes of light pulsing all around him, like a vertical tunnel of rainbow energy meant to hypnotize him as he fell. Strange sounds buzzed loudly in his ears, and he couldn’t decipher whether they were symphonies or screams. His nerves were wired, his limbs jumpy while his insides felt like they’d been completely rearranged. He felt pulled in all directions, but also as if the air was crushing his body further into itself. It was a slow but manic torture that he wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Although he knew he had been falling for quite some time it was as if he hadn’t moved at all, as if he had been in this space for eternity. As if he’d never been anywhere else.

Still, he vaguely recalled jumping in after Xiumin and the strange boy. He was now wondering if all the pain meant he hadn’t actually made it anywhere. Maybe he was dead, or dying now. That would explain the flashing of strange images he kept seeing, and why he couldn’t stop himself from falling. 

He wanted to scream, but didn’t have the strength or control to fill his lungs with enough air. He felt like crying, but his eyes were immediately dried out by the harsh wind that tore against him from below. 

Unable to react to anything physically, he simply closed his eyes and wished for it to stop. 

And for whatever reason, it did. 

Luhan opened his eyes from where he lay on the soaked floor of what appeared to be a lavish dining hall. On the ceiling there was a detailed mural, reminiscent of Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and yet completely wrong at the same time. In the place of cherubs and prophets were nymphs and creatures only found in lore, all with gazes that transcended paint and smiles that put Luhan on edge. The loud music in the hall, an off-putting orchestra that sounded as if it was playing everything a half-step down from where they should be, did nothing to help the feeling of uneasiness. Turning his head to each side, he was more unnerved to realize that he was completely alone and that there were no exits leading in or out of the place.

Standing up from where he lay, he took in the rest of his surroundings.

A giant banquet table sat in the middle of a grand hall, laden with a marvelous assortment of food and art. Tiers of cakes were frosted and decorated with the most delicate of pearls, ornate bowls of colored candies sat upon the most exquisite lace doilies, towers of champagne glasses glittered under the massive chandelier hanging above, and nestled all around these were the most beautifully painted teapots, most of which were tipped over and spilling out onto the tablecloth and floor beneath. Sat in the luxuriously upholstered chairs surrounding the table were not bodies, but instead framed paintings. They were all made in different sizes and art styles, but the one thing consistent was that any figure depicted in them was faceless. 

Curious, Luhan moved closer. 

Moving up to stand against the table, Luhan marveled at the delicacies laid out there. Never in his life had he seen such splendor and detail put into one meal. Suddenly, he felt extremely parched.

He scooped up a teacup from where it sat on it’s tiny saucer, delighted to find the liquid within perfectly refreshing, the perfect blend of bitter and smooth. Noticing a lovely array of candies directly next to the saucer, he reached out and picked up a piece from the grand dish, knowing it would taste just as scrumptious.

The pale orchid and baby blue sugar was spun into a perfect orb, practically begging Luhan to eat it. Placing the candy on the tip of his tongue, he reveled in the sweetness of the confection for a short moment before it was overpowered by the taste of iron.

Drawing his hand away from his bleeding tongue, he saw that the candy wasn’t candy at all. The sugar orb, along with the entire array of treats along the dining table, had turned into a shard of a broken teacup. 

The room suddenly fell quiet, as if the non-existent conductor for the non-existent orchestra had called for a rest. Luhan dropped the bloody shard when he heard the loud creaking of a door.

Looking behind him, he saw the grand exit of the hall that he swore hadn’t been there previously. The door was slowly shutting in on itself, as if being pushed on the outside. Luhan was completely alone, but he felt as if he could hear whispering from the doorway. Knowing he should escape but not knowing why, he quickly made his way towards the closing exit. 

He flinched when he stepped on something sharp, lifting his foot to see that a shard of porcelain was stuck in his shoe. He quickly wrenched it out, ignoring the dull pain as he continued his pace. He had to make it out now. 

The whispering had grown louder, more rushed. The doors, in turn, were shutting more quickly. It become obvious that whoever, or whatever, was on the other side was plotting against him, for some reason wanted him stuck in here. Luhan, now desperate, broke into a run.

The whisperers, it seemed, were not the only things against him. No matter where he stepped, a piece of broken porcelain would already be in his way, waiting to pierce the thinning rubber of his sole. The hall seemed to be slowly stretching, the door now twice as far from him, and the orchestra had picked up again, like the mad soundtrack to his impending capture. 

Not looking where he stepped, Luhan cried out as a particularly skinny shard cut directly through his shoe, deeply piercing the side of his foot. It brought him to the soaked floor, where other shards waited to slice into his knees and forearms. 

A faint giggling came from the doorway. 

Looking up, Luhan saw two shadowed figures behind the door, who had stopped pulling in favor of watching him suffer. 

The former desperation and fear was muted with the frustration that now clouded Luhan’s mind. How weak did they think he was? 

He eyed the distance between him and the door. He wouldn’t make it in time, even if the figures had paused. But he had to try. 

Luhan gritted his teeth as he took hold of the shard still lodged into his foot, grip so tight that the edges were beginning to cut into his palm. With a sharp inhalation of breath, he wrenched until the shard came free, a torrent of fresh blood coming with it to mix with the black tea below. 

Luhan felt lightheaded, vision blurring as the mixture of iron and cha overwhelmed his senses. He couldn’t find his feet to stand, his hand reaching out towards the exit in a last hope of getting closer. 

Then, his hand closed around something dense and cold. 

Blinking rapidly to refocus, Luhan saw that he was holding the knob of the door, having somehow made it across the hall. The figures were nowhere to be found, but instead there was an empty hallway beyond the door, from which the faint sound of drums was emanating. 

He struggled to his feet, holding onto the knob for support, and crossed the threshold of the door. Looking back into the dining hall, he saw the banquet table as it was before, with piles of treats, tea, and perfectly immaculate, unbroken porcelain. 

Unnerved, Luhan headed in the direction of the music. 

As he walked along he couldn’t help but notice how unremarkable the hallway was in comparison to the hall he’d just escaped. There was no intricate tiling to the floor, just dirt and grass, like someone had forgotten to finish the space. Looking up, he saw that someone had forgotten the ceiling, as well, foreign stars of various vibrant colors twinkling in the dark fuchsia sky. 

It made him wonder when he had gotten outside. 

He couldn’t see the end of the hallway, and when he turned back he could no longer see the beginning. The unadorned and muted walls around him rustled with the growing tremor of the drums, and when Luhan brushed his fingers up against one, he found them to be paper thin in texture. Putting more pressure on one of them with his fingertips, Luhan watched as the flimsy maze fell over completely like a ruined house of cards. 

The absence of walls now revealed to him an elevated path in the thick of a mountain forest. A heavy mist curled around his feet, cloaking the mountain’s floor. Luhan wouldn’t have been sure of where to go had it not been for the steady thump of the same drums sounding from further up the path. 

Following the hypnotic sound, Luhan found himself at an arched entrance. 

There were no walls to be found surrounding the arch, just broken off pieces of the countless sticks and branches it must have taken to make the framework, and two careful piles of stones, one black and one white, nestled just before the entrance. Something about the piles compelled him to take some.

Slipping a white stone into his right pocket and a black stone into his left, Luhan walked through the archway. 

The beating of drums became fervent as he worked his way closer, and the multi-colored stars above appeared to flare with each new pulse. He was so engrossed in the strange heavens that he didn’t even notice the stone in front of him until his foot hit it.

Jumping back slightly, Luhan found himself at the base of what could only be described as a temple.

At all points of the base there were staggered pillars in which meticulous pictographs of no language familiar to Luhan were carved. The shallow steps he stood at the bottom of were cut from the most lustrous of minerals and led up to an elevated platform.

And in the absolute center of that platform, cross-legged, his bare back turned, and both hands resting unmoving on the tops of his thighs, sat a man. 

Luhan stopped abruptly, startled by the sudden company. 

The man was slight in build, but obviously strong, lean muscle evident under soft, smooth skin. Though he shouldn’t have been threatening, being relatively small and apparently unarmed, his only garment or possession being a set of white, silken pants, Luhan felt quite intimidated. Though he could not point out exactly why, this man was incredibly imposing, a silent power emanating from him. What was most remarkable about the man was his complete stillness, almost as if he was just a statue, a tribute to whatever god this temple worshipped. The only part of him that gave the appearance of life was his vibrant, orange hair, whose color seemed to crackle and flame in the starlight. 

“Hello?” Luhan called out to him, unnerved.

The man did not respond. The feverish beat of drums continued on, and it crossed Luhan’s mind that the man might not be able to hear him. He tentatively ascended the first, second, third step, continuing on until he was solidly in the middle of the flight. He hesitated.

“Who are you?”

This too remained unanswered. 

Taking a breath, Luhan ascended the remaining stairs. The stone platform hummed with an energy that could have come from nowhere else but the man. The drumming had lost all semblance of rhythm, now beating madly to some unknown, erratic pulse.

“Hello?” Luhan spoke again, voice barely a whisper. Not waiting for an answer this time, Luhan reached out to touch the man’s shoulder.

The drumming ceased, the last thrum of sound hanging in the energy-charged air. 

_“Luhan.”_

Before his fingers found skin, an unseen force halted his hand, pushing him back with force. Luhan stumbled as he was knocked back, balancing himself before he fell off the platform. The man had not moved, but Luhan was sure it was him who’d spoken.

He paused, holding his breath. Who was this man?

The voice originated from the man in front of him, but still sounded far away, too far to be coming from mere feet in front of him. Peering closer, Luhan was astounded to find that he could see right through the man to the temple pillars on the other side. As if the man wasn’t a man at all. 

But then, what was he? And why was the man showing himself to him? 

“H-how do you know my name?”

Predictably, the man didn’t answer. Frustrated, Luhan moved forward once more.  
He didn’t make it a foot. The invisible force was more aggressive this time, and Luhan soon found himself teetering on the edge of the steps, unable to find purchase on the stone floor. 

Right before he began to fall, the voice spoke again.

_“Come to me, Luhan. Come find me.”_

And then Luhan was tumbling rapidly, arms and legs scraping against the unforgiving stone beneath until finally he hit the temple floor. Black spots danced across his vision when he sat up, the world spinning wickedly. 

When his dizziness finally dissipated and he could see clearly, he discovered himself sitting on a completely different ground. 

Though he was at the base of a flight of stairs, the much narrower, much shorter steps before him led not to a temple platform, but to the front door of a house. 

Standing up and brushing himself off, Luhan took in his surroundings. 

The house wasn’t overly large, fancy, or even in that great of condition – it’s coat of paint had faded and the floor of the front porch was worn from overuse, but still Luhan found it’s image pleasing. The house seemed to emanate warmth not present in the outside air, so when Luhan noticed that the door had been left slightly ajar, he did not hesitate to climb the steps and push his way inside.

The inside of the house was bathed in amber light, the light fixtures tingeing the soft carpet and warm-toned wallpapers of the entry hall. Luhan made his way down the corridor, peering into doors to find a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and near the end of the hall what looked to be a child’s, or maybe multiple children’s, bedroom. 

Intrigued, Luhan made to open the door, but then he heard a sudden scratching coming from the door ahead. Turning towards the sound, Luhan opened the door leading to it, leaving the children’s room behind. 

The room he entered was clearly a study. A deep green armchair sat in the corner of the room, surrounded by books of all shapes, colors, and sizes, a discarded throw blanket hanging off of one arm. Various maps, paintings, and children’s drawings hung from the walls, lit up by the array of candles flickering from various hanging shelves. To pull the room together there was an exquisitely carved desk of dark cherry wood, and sitting in front of it, back turned and scribbling out something fierce, was a man. 

Luhan didn’t move to approach him this time, wary of being pushed away from the warm, comfortable atmosphere of the house. Instead, he observed.

The man appeared to be middle-aged from what Luhan could see of the back of him – his shoes were polished with a carefulness not often attributed to youth, the beginnings of wrinkles and pronounced veins appeared in the man’s furiously moving hand, and there were the slightest of dark, grey streaks running through his neatly coiffed hair. 

Luhan tried to peer at what the man was writing, but he didn’t dare move closer to get a better look. He seemed to be drafting a letter, and a rather urgent one at that. Various sheets of crumpled and discarded drafts lay at his feet and sitting by his left hand was a lovely wax seal stamp, adorned with a tiny drawing of a white rabbit. 

As if sensing his eyes on him, the man’s hand suddenly came to a stop. Luhan held his breath as the man pushed his hands against the desk, starting to turn towards him, the very beginning outline of his jaw coming into sight—

_“Luhan?”_

He whipped around at the sound of his mother’s voice, seemingly coming from outside. She sounded tense, annoyed, like usual. But how had she gotten here?

_“Luhan, come outside right now.”_

Pushing through the door and leaving the man behind, Luhan ran back out of the room. It had become decidedly chilly in the hallway so Luhan hugged his arms to his body as he hurried to the front door. Passing the many doors, he began to notice all the pictures hanging on the walls. Obviously family photos, each picture was framed and hung thoughtfully, but he couldn’t make out any of the people’s faces – they had all been scratched out. 

Uneasy and apprehensive of making his mother wait any longer, Luhan ran the last few steps to the front door, wrenching open the entrance and stepping outside. 

Luhan shivered as the frigid night air whipped against his suddenly bare body.

Wrapping his arms around his chest and waist, he looked back to find that the house was gone and his mother nowhere to be found. Instead, Luhan found himself in a vale. 

Outlines of forest trees caged him in a perfect circle, moonlight streaming down on him in the middle. Luhan took a tentative step towards the forest, realizing how exposed he was. 

**“D on’ t mo ve.”**

He froze. The voice no longer belonged to his mother. Instead, the sound that emanated from the trees was deep and distorted, almost as if it was coming from another place altogether. Standing stark naked in the center of the vale, Luhan watched in terror as bowmen emerged from the trees, their movements silent in the whistling wind. 

It was as if he’d suddenly lost all senses; The wind was howling so violently he could hear nothing else and the bowmen appeared as phantoms of the night, flowing black capes shading most of their face and armor. He could feel himself trembling as their movements stilled, building a circular barricade around him.

Luhan opened his mouth to speak, but it was as if the air itself was twining round his throat, strangling him into silence. Not knowing what else to do, Luhan put his hands up in a stance of surrender.

For a drawn out moment nothing moved.

Then, the bowmen began to draw back their arrows, the sound of their strings pulling taut undetectable in the roaring wind.

Luhan tried to cry out, explain that he meant no harm, but all he could do was frantically shake his head. He kept his hands up, scanning the wooded area around them. He couldn’t run – He’d never make it with all the men surrounding him, and who knew how many lay in wait?

The bowmen stood around him, poised to shoot, but as if waiting for some unseen signal. Luhan tried to block out his surroundings, tried to think of some plan or means of escape, but it was impossible to think with the painful frequency of the wailing wind. He held his hands to his ears in a desperate attempt for clarity. 

It was effective, but only for a moment. 

Though the crashing waves of wind had faltered, his head was filled with a new creeping, whispering noise. The figures around him did not move to speak, but the mischievous, mocking noises seemed to come directly from them. Luhan couldn’t make out any words, but he could make out the intentions.

They wanted him afraid. They wanted him hurting. They wanted him dead.

A cold dread washed over his body as he felt the wrath in those voices, tears threatening to spill over as his body quaked in apprehension, but before he could attempt to plead again, something came back to him.

The smell of his own blood.

The sweet taste of sugar. 

The anxiety of being trapped. 

All of these sensations flooded his mind as the image of a shutting door flashed before his eyes, before quickly dissipating back into the dangerous reality before him.

Luhan stood paralyzed and confused, but not quite as afraid as before. 

Where had he been before he was here? And why did it seem that these whispering voices were somehow familiar?

As if those voices could hear his doubts, they became more hushed, but more urgent, as if speaking directly to the bowmen settled around him. As if telling them to hurry and finish the job.

But for whatever reason, he no longer felt like running.

Luhan closed his eyes as the harsh twang of released arrows sounded. He bit his lip, preparing for the burning sensation of torn flesh as the sharp whistling of wood cutting through air surrounded him.

But no pain came.

Instead, he felt his body being tickled from delicate touches there one second and gone another. He heard a soothing buzz from all directions, and when he opened his eyes he was surprised to see all the soldiers and their deadly weapons missing, replaced by a floating fog of golden light.

Luhan held out his arms as tens and hundreds of fireflies glided around him, occasionally dropping down to lay a gossamer kiss to his bare expanses of skin. Looking up, he marveled at the swarm above him, their alternating twinkling against the dark sky reminiscent of the heavens. He laughed, unable to keep the joy at such beauty from bubbling up within him, but as soon as he made a sound the fireflies paused in midair.

They started moving not a moment later, but whereas before they had been hovering in beautiful disarray, their movements were now very focused. The fireflies began to cluster together directly above him, then organized themselves into one extended line, slowly descending towards him in a spiraling motion. Luhan observed as the line circled around him, then began to slowly maneuver away into the forest, moving in a beeline towards an unseen destination.

Curious, Luhan asked, "Should I follow?"

The line of fireflies flashed once in unison. Taking this as an affirmation, Luhan took his place at the back of the line. As Luhan walked, fireflies from the end of the line began to disperse, choosing to hide away in the branches of trees as he moved forward. The line was shortening drastically as he went along, the soft glow from behind him comforting in the increasingly darkening forest.

It wasn't but a few moments before only ten fireflies floated before him, and when the last one finally soared above and away, Luhan found his toes touching the very edge of a vast lake.

Luhan marveled at the wonder before him.

The lake was massive, stretching far beyond where his vision gave out in the dim light. Snow-white amaryllis floated gracefully on the water and the few spots of uncovered surface glittered delicately in the isolated beams of moonlight filtering through the trees. 

Inching forward until his feet became submerged, Luhan was pleased to find the water cool and soothing. It wasn’t long until he’d waded chest deep.

Looking around cautiously, he wondered if he was alone or not. As far as he could see or hear there was nothing around but gently swaying leaves and nighttime bugs, but Luhan remained unsure.

Hadn’t those soldiers emerged from the same forest? Surely there could be more of them and if there were, the last place he’d want to be is caught in the middle of a body of water.

He turned himself around to return to shore, but, as if coaxing him into staying, the lake began to warm and the most wonderful floral scent began to emanate from it. The tension and worry melted from him, as if the healing properties of the water could reach the inner parts of his body as well as the submerged outer. 

He drifted unconsciously further towards the middle of the lake, pulled in by the mollifying effect the water was taking on his body. Luhan plucked a petal from a flower as he drifted by, lifting it to his nose and taking a deep breath of the sweet, mild scent. 

Looking off to shore, Luhan watched as the fireflies twinkled from their trees, lighting up the forest like a mock Christmas village. Though he was well aware he should be more on guard, he couldn’t bring himself to worry. After all, hadn’t the soldiers disappeared completely? Perhaps they weren’t ever there. 

Perhaps, this time, nothing scary or horrible would happen. Perhaps if he stayed calm, he could just swim comfortably until he woke up from this bizarre dream.

Luhan dragged his fingers through the water, watching as the mellow waves the motion left behind shimmered until falling still again. 

Whatever the case, he decided, if there was something dangerous, it would present itself whether he worried about it or not. He might as well enjoy the downtime while he had it. 

Luhan leaned back and spread out his limbs, willing himself to float. 

Flower petals brushed his skin as they floated by, but he hardly noticed the tickling sensation as the lake worked it’s soothing magic – before long his entire body felt weightless, as if all the tension in his muscles and the anxiety in his mind had been washed away in the soothing laps of water surrounding him. 

He was reminded of the baths back home, back in his childhood. His mother would scoop him up, letting him take his time in choosing his bubble bath. He always picked the same one, the one that she would use, honey and rose-hips. He remembered staying in those baths for so long that the water would be absolutely freezing by the end of it. 

Luhan smiled to himself, thinking about how silly he’d been, and how terse she’d always gotten with him afterwards. But he would have done anything, even freeze himself half to death, to wheedle a homemade bowl of sweet rice ball soup out of her. 

Waking him from his daydream, Luhan began to feel tiny droplets of cool liquid fall atop his body.

It must be raining, he thought. 

As if the storm clouds above the canopy of trees had heard him, a distant crack of thunder sounded, the raindrops picking up frequency and the formerly stagnant water beneath him beginning to sway in the abrupt gusts of wind. 

Luhan frowned as the swells grew and began to pull him frontwards and back. What had brought on the storm?

His eyes blinked open in protest as freezing drops assaulted his exposed skin and he struggled to stay afloat in the churning lake. It was clearly time to get out.

Luhan attempted to paddle towards shore, but with each stroke of his arm came a heavier push back from the water surrounding him. He noticed that it no longer came in gentle, swaying ripples as it had before – now it came in sloshing, overlapping waves, intent on devouring whatever lay in front of them. Luhan felt his nerves ignite anew.

He pushed forward again, this time attempting to dive under an approaching wave. The water was freezing and murky as Luhan held his breath and went down, and without any indication of direction he found himself struggling back up towards the surface.

The lake had other intentions. 

Waves crashed down on him from above, pushing down on his shoulder and back as he thrashed. The pressure underneath seemed to double and soon his lungs felt as if about to burst. He punched up again, nerves reeling from panic and eyes burning from the frigid depths, but as his finger managed to touch a petal of a flower above some force within the lake thrust back, seemingly condemning him to his fate. 

With his chest caving in from pressure and knowledge of there being absolutely no one around to help him, Luhan used the last of the air remaining in his lungs and screamed. 

Any trace of air was now completely spent and black spots began to cloud his already impaired vision, but the pressure from above had been swept away. Luhan desperately kicked with the last of his failing strength, muscles protesting from the frigid water and lack of oxygen.

His fingers curled around a single amaryllis, and, somehow, he surfaced. 

Luhan gasped as he broke the frigid water, and he strained his aching chest to swallow as much air as he could. A booming crack of thunder sounded above him, and before he could completely strain open his frozen lashes to assess his position, a drop from above fell directly onto his eye. 

Luhan flinched at the contact. The liquid was distressingly warm and caused his eye to sting terribly. He wiped frantically at the liquid with his hands, already knowing what it was by the familiar, pungent smell that filled his nose. 

When he fully opened his eyes he could see his hands were a deep, rusty red, as if the blood that now rained down on him had been days old. Luhan cried out, petrified, thrusting his hands back into the water if only to rid them of the awful stains. 

Not a moment later, he felt himself choking anew as a torrent of hot blood splashed down against his cheek, flooding into the corner of his mouth. He gagged, spitting the tepid liquid out into the water around him.

He made to escape to shore, but as he reached out for the first stroke, a bloodstained amaryllis brushed against his arm, the formerly soft petals burning the skin of his arm like acid. 

Luhan yelped, retracting his injured arm and twisting around, desperate to find some path that would lead him out of danger. 

Everywhere he looked the darkening lake was spotted with clusters of now blood-red flowers. He could no longer make out the shoreline, the sanguine downpour blurring his vision as it splashed against his face and stuck to his hair. 

Luhan felt himself shaking, no longer from cold but from pure misery. He had to find a way out. 

Looking down to shield his eyes from the relentless shower above, Luhan noticed the stark difference between the unblemished skin of his submerged hands and the layers of crimson that coated his upper body.

Wanting nothing more than to be rid of the sticky feeling and putrid scent of iron, Luhan dropped once more below the surface of the lake. 

Luhan was soon completely submerged, but this time he was relieved rather than tormented.

The water around him held no pressure, no longer suffocating him, and though Luhan could see the droplets of blood spattering down against the surface of the lake, it was once again clear underneath, as if there were some invisible barrier that the horror above could not permeate. 

Gazing down at his limbs, he was relieved to find them clean. Then, as he looked past his legs deeper down into the lake, Luhan swore he saw a tiny, glowing light. 

What could that light possibly lead to? Was it an exit from this place?

Not knowing whether it was a good idea to delve further into the lake that had proved itself so treacherous, but unwilling to return to the horrifying surface, Luhan swam towards it. 

He attempted to push forward quickly, but soon he noticed that it was unnecessary – for whatever reason, he no longer felt short of breath or even the necessity to breathe at all. With this realization and Luhan pacing himself, the travel became so effortless that it felt like he was being pushed along by something else entirely. 

The light before him was growing in circumference, becoming so bright that the water around him became nearly transparent. It seemed as if he was closing in on another surface of the lake.

Could one reach an alternate surface by swimming down from another? 

Luhan was sure it wouldn’t be the case back home, but it was also clear that whatever foreign place he was caught in didn’t abide by rules that he was used to.

When the light became so bright that Luhan was squinting against it, he knew he must have been close to breaching the surface. Giving a last few vigorous kicks, Luhan broke through the water.

Luhan coughed as he collapsed against the soft ground that had appeared beneath him. His chest and muscles heaved with exertion, but the warm earth underneath his cheek and the far-off chirruping of songbirds moved to soothe him. 

When he had finally caught his breath, Luhan lifted his head to look around. 

There was no body of water in sight. Instead, Luhan found himself in a vast, sprawling prairie, with grasses so tall and thick that he was sure he wouldn’t be able to see over them should he stand. 

Everything had a pink tinge to it – the grasses, the sky, and even the earth beneath was delightfully aflush, lending a dreamy, whimsical feeling to the place. Luhan felt all the stress and anxiety of before melt away in the hot sun that beat down on him.

Looking to his side, Luhan found a folded set of clothing directly near him. Shaking them out to get a better look, he was pleased with the slim, cotton pants and loose, white sweater that had been left for him. 

He finally stood, stepping into the clothing and reveling in how comfortably the material moved against his skin. Pulling the sleeves down over his hands to warm them further, Luhan stepped through the rose ocean.

He was surprised to find the ground and surrounding grasses incredibly soft. The long strands tickled his skin lightly as he passed, and the sensation was so pleasant that he found himself chuckling.

Then, from somewhere close behind him, he heard a reciprocating laugh. 

Luhan whipped around, startled by the twinkling sound. The grasses were just tall enough to inhibit him from looking over the top, but when he blinked he saw another person making their way towards him. 

He pondered whether the pretty scene around him was yet another trick, but something about the obviously male form walking towards him told Luhan to feel unthreatened. Though the tall, thick grasses made it difficult for Luhan to navigate his way through, this boy seemed to have no problem. His long, elegant body seemed to move through the field with ease. 

Luhan squinted, raising an arm to block out the intense sun. 

The day was too bright and the parts of the boy’s face that weren’t covered by the grasses were masked behind brilliant beams of light. Though the boy was now only feet in front of him, all Luhan could catch were glimpses of slender limbs, softly blowing hair, a vibrant smile under soft lips. 

Even so, the mere seconds of clarity were enough to pique his interest. For some reason he liked this boy. For some reason he felt drawn to him. 

Luhan reached forward through the grasses, startling when his fingers brushed over a smooth expanse of skin. Realizing it was the boy’s bare chest, Luhan retracted his hand, blushing deeply.

The boy laughed, the same as he had before. It was strong, pure, but only lasted a moment before fading into the surrounding wind. Luhan smiled at the sound, lifting his eyes to try and get a better look.

He didn’t get the chance before being caught off guard again – the boy was suddenly in his space, and although the brilliant white light above them washed out his features, the lips that pressed against Luhan’s own felt like the clearest memory he would ever have.

The boy moved away as quickly as he had come, and was suddenly smiling anew. Luhan’s whole body burned, his lips tingling where the boy had touched him, his skin coming alive with a pleasant nervousness. 

It made him want more contact.

Acting with a forwardness he didn’t usually have, Luhan reached out, almost able to clasp the boy’s slender fingers in his own before he playfully slipped away, his grip coming away with nothing but strands of rosy grass. 

The boy laughed at the show, throwing his silhouetted head back in amusement. Luhan found himself wondering what the face of such a beautiful silhouette would look like. The odd and persistent glare of the sun didn’t allow him this knowledge, so he would have to get as close as possible.

Luhan dared to reach once more. 

The boy was quicker. He started to run from Luhan, lithe limbs quickly disappearing in the rosy sea. Not wanting to lose sight of him, Luhan made chase.

The boy was quicker than him for sure, but he never completely left Luhan’s sight. As they ran, the long pink stems swaying back and forth between them, Luhan began to notice the glances the boy would throw at him every few steps. 

The sun frustratingly masked his eyes, but Luhan could make out long eyelashes and smooth skin illuminated by the blinding light. He could see the movement of the boy’s mouth, and although no sound came from him, Luhan could see that the boy was trying to tell him something. 

Luhan could tell that he wanted him to keep following.

For whatever reason Luhan felt glad at this realization, a warmth flooding into his chest and a determination filling his heart. 

He picked up his pace, his feet light and springing off the warm earth beneath him, unwilling to let the boy get away from him. The grasses seemed to part for Luhan as he made his way through, and it wasn’t long until he was gaining on him. 

He heard the boy laugh once more, the sound coming from mere feet in front of him. The sound hit his bloodstream directly, an electrifying heat coursing through his body, provoking the spark he already felt in his heart. 

With a few more long strides Luhan sprung forward. 

At the same moment the boy stopped, turning and wrapping both arms around Luhan as their bodies collided and the ground disappeared beneath them. 

They were falling. 

As their bodies turned in the rushing wind Luhan saw the rosy cliff from which they’d dropped, his collision with the boy having sent them over the edge. Luhan clung tightly to the boy’s broad shoulders, entangled his legs with the boy’s own, but he wasn’t afraid.

The boy’s strong arms held him protectively, and although Luhan knew they could do nothing but fall, he felt comforted. He buried his face in the boy’s neck and closed his eyes, tired of watching the rushing world around them.

The next time he looked up he was alone again.

He was still falling, back in the endless vertical stream of energy he’d been caught in before. Except this time he wasn’t in pain. Now he felt remarkably peaceful. 

Instead of feeling suffocated and distorted as he had before, he now felt very in control of his body and direction, almost as if he was falling on purpose. The rushing wind around him seemed to glide softly off the planes of his body; the former excruciating sounds now a reassuring hum. Most notably of all, instead of the blazing and burning rainbow that incased him on all sides, he was now surrounded by energy of pure gold. And instead of feeling contained by it, it seemed to Luhan as if it may have emanated from him. 

Had the pain he experienced earlier even been real? Had he simply fallen asleep and had some vivid nightmare? Or was he still dreaming now?

Had any of the things he’d seen been there at all?

Luhan wasn’t sure. He remembered Xiumin gone missing, his captor, and the echoing portal. He remembered a house, a man, his mother’s voice. He remembered the sensation of cut skin, of warm blood splashing against his cheek. 

Luhan shivered, unnerved. But, then, he also remembered something else. 

Bringing a tentative hand to his lips, he remembered how the boy from the field had kissed him, tenderly, playfully, without inhibition. Luhan could feel his skin tingle where the boy had touched him even now. 

That hadn’t been an illusion; somehow, he was sure of it. 

And though he couldn’t make sense of anything he’d seen, where he was, or even where he’d come from, Luhan was beginning to feel as if it wouldn’t much matter at the end of everything. 

The only thing that mattered now was that he felt safe. 

Content in this realization, Luhan wrapped his arms around his middle and shut his eyes with a deep sigh, willing himself to sleep. 

There was a deepening roar of wind around him and an increasingly searing heat emanating from the space around him, but Luhan felt and heard absolutely nothing. He simply drifted off into the dark and peaceful silence that followed.


	5. ace of spades

Sehun woke with a start.

He swiftly rose from where he’d sat napping, slumped against the base of a wide tree, and unsheathed his sword. Keeping his back to the protective trunk and scanning his surroundings, he listened for anyone approaching.

But while he heard nothing but the soft whispering of wind, the ground beneath his feet was strangely warm and seemed to vibrate. Dropping to press one palm against the earth, he frowned as the vibrations dissipated rapidly until the forest was completely still, as if the loud bang that woke him had only been his imagination.

Lifting his fingers to his mouth, he moved to whistle for Suho, but then thought better of it. If the noise came from a brigade of Heart soldiers, the last thing he wanted was to expose his location. He turned his whistle into the chiming warble of talkingjay instead, aiming the sound above his head where countless avian creatures nested. 

It wasn’t long before he received a melodic response, curious birds poking their heads out from between leaves to peek at who called from below. He repeated the action until a tiny talkingjay fluttered down from his perch, landing gracefully on his extended finger. Lifting the little creature higher so they would be eye-level, Sehun spoke.

“I have a question for you or your brothers.”

“Good morning! Good weather today! Good flying temperature!” chimed the little bird, fluffing up its feathers happily.

Sehun rolled his eyes. This was the problem with talkingjays – they unfortunately reveled in small talk.

“Yes, I suppose it’s nice out. Did you see anything out of the ordinary going on while I was napping here?”

“Oh, yes! Many good things! A squirrel dropped a nut and sister bird got it instead! Also many lady and gentleman bugs out this morning! Good for breakfast! If you eat them--,”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Sehun interrupted, trying and most likely failing to keep his tone friendly. Talkingjays were known to be quite sensitive. “Have you seen anything strange?”

The bird cocked its little head.

“What is strange!”

Sehun sighed.

“I don’t know. Have you seen any other men like me?” He tapped the bird on its beak to keep its wandering attention, and then pointed to his armor. “Have you seen any shiny men?”

The bird suddenly hovered, then promptly landed again and stomped it’s little feet on Sehun’s finger in excitement.

“Oh yes! Saw a shiny man up in the sky! Then saw shiny man on the ground!”

“What?”

“Shiny man was in sky then came down to ground! Like bird but man!” the creature enthused.

Sehun squinted.

“So, the man was flying?”

“Yes! Yes! Shiny man flying in sky!”

Sehun eyed the bird. Obviously this one had gotten into some spoiled nuts.

“Uh-huh. So where is this man now?”

The little bird emitted an enthusiastic squawk and peeled off into the air.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Sehun called after the bird, which was swooping furiously away, “Where are you going?”

“I take you to shiny man! Follow! Follow!” 

Sehun inwardly groaned, but followed anyway, not having to move very quickly to keep up with his new friend’s short wings. The bird was heading deeper into the forest, further north than they usually scouted, but far enough from the border for Sehun to relax a bit. It was unlikely that the large ruckus had been due to Heart soldiers – they rarely dared crossing into Spade territories, and if they ever did, Sehun was sure it wouldn’t be through the middle of their regularly patrolled areas.

The bird flew over a small stream and Sehun took extra care to use the various stepping-stones to get across, not letting any part of his boot touch the surrounding water. He was already putting his trust in a probably insane woodland creature to give him insight on a possibly crucial situation– He didn’t feel like alerting any flirtatious and time-consuming sirens of his whereabouts, too. Though, that would make a fun story to tell Suho when he returned to the castle later.

Sehun felt the smallest of smiles creep onto his face as he thought of his best friend. He really did care for him and never meant to stress the older boy out on purpose, but sometimes it was just too easy – they’d been friends for years, and although Sehun was older now and much more capable of protecting himself than he’d been when they’d met, he had a feeling that Suho still saw him as that young boy.

Which meant Sehun had better get some sort of lead out of this expedition to make it worth the worry his inevitable tardiness would have on the boy; That, or he’d better make up some marvelous excuse should it be fruitless.

But all ideas for reasonable excuses fled his mind when he noticed the sudden movement happening from within the trees.

Though it happened so quickly that even someone as meticulous as Sehun wondered if he’d imagined it, and even though he couldn’t make out the form of the culprit, he also knew that the sudden flash of red off to his side had definitely happened. It was gone in an instant, so whatever or whoever was following him was obviously hiding now, but Sehun forced himself not to glance in it’s direction.

Instead, he faked a yawn, stretched out his sword arm, dragging along his weapon as if it tired him. Anything to look unconcerned and unaware.  
“Do you see anything, little bird?

His tone was light, lazy even. It didn’t match the calculative but undetectable steps that he inched closer to where he’d seen the movement. The bird, oblivious he was sure, flew in a happy little loop, nearly knocking into Sehun’s forehead, before continuing on its previous path.

“Shiny man! Shiny man!”

Sehun scowled.

“Yeah, I know. We’re going to find the shiny man. Forget it, fucking idiot bird,” he muttered under his breath, following his guide cautiously.

He knew he’d seen something, but it was probably best if his stalker thought him to be naïve. He walked casually, but his hand stayed steady on his sword should anything attempt to attack.

Not a moment later, on the edge of his peripheral vision, the culprit moved again, and this time swiftly towards him.

He let it get as close as he dared, waiting until he could hear it’s breath before whipping round and slicing it through with the lethally sharp edge of his sword.

The thump of the creature’s body hit the ground before Sehun could even get a look at it. However, when he peered back at where it fell behind him, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Aw, and it was even cute,” he observed as he dropped beside the struggling rabbit.

It was a beautiful russet color, but the splendor of its shining fur had been ruined by the nearly complete cut Sehun had put through its belly. It’s little lungs strained as it kicked out at him, large orange eyes bulging as it watched him hover overhead.

While he hadn’t planned on doing any hunting on his shift, Sehun was relieved that it was just a common wood creature rather than an assassin or whatever else his paranoid mind could conjure up.

Not wanting the creature to suffer further, he was quick to drag his sword through the rabbit’s neck, the snap of its bone loud in the quiet forest. Once he’d removed it’s head, he was surprised to find this particular rabbit to have several inch long fangs protruding from it’s asymmetrical snout.

“Ah, a blood-bunny,” he remarked.

Probably for the best he’d put an end to it early, then; Though fairly rare, this particular type of rabbit was known for causing many a missing limb for forest-goers caught unawares.

Chucking the rabbit into the rucksack he carried on his back, Sehun stood, looking about for the talkingjay. It couldn’t have gotten far.

He called out to it in it’s own language again, and surely enough it popped out from the trees up ahead.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

And then it was diving back in without another word. Sehun shook his head, following consciously but disbelieving of his current situation.  
All he’d wanted to do was nap and shirk his duties today, and now look what he was doing – Trailing after an obviously disturbed creature into a forest known for its odd sense of humor and trickery and being harassed by overly aggressive bunnies.

Still, whatever had woken him was very sudden and very loud, and it hadn’t sounded like any of the drills Sehun could remember his fellow soldiers practicing. If he could find any kind of lead on who had caused such a commotion and what they desired to come from it, the trip would be beneficial.  
And the rabbit would make a good stew for him and Suho later, so there was always that.

The path the bird took continued on easily enough, Sehun only needing to keep a moderate pace to keep up with the creature’s constant flapping, but Sehun paused when his guide neared was looked to be a small gorge.

The air around them was increasingly warm as they neared the narrow chasm, and though Sehun could see the opening on the other side, the soldier in him advised him to find a different path.

“Are you sure we have to go through there? There might be a way around.”

The talkingjay fluttered above him, thrashing it’s little body about to emulate what Sehun assumed was supposed to be a human shake of the head.

“Only way through! Takes too long around!”

Sehun peered around them. Though the land mass before them wasn’t exaggeratingly high, maybe 20 feet up, it seemed to continue along the land horizontally for farther than Sehun could see. The bird might be right about it taking longer to go around, and more time trekking could mean more time for someone else to happen upon beneficial information belonging to him.

Sehun nodded.

“Alright, lead the way.”

He stepped into the narrow gorge, sword held protectively in front of him.

The plant life that grew along it’s ground was thick and varied, most of it mere grass, but much of it lengthy vines that crawled all the way up the sides of the gorge and over it’s top. Some of them moved like snakes along the gorge’s floor, ensnaring small bugs and unlucky mice in their spiky-haired tendrils.  
The air between the earthen walls was damp and unsettling. While there was very little about the kingdom’s forests that Sehun actually feared, he knew better than to test them, especially alone and with no one aware of his location.

“Are we close?” Sehun called out to the bird, the intertwining vines slowing him down a bit as he moved through the dense growth. He was mindful to not let the sneaky ones wrap around his ankles as he passed, effectively cutting off their malicious tendrils with his sword if they inched too close.

“Yes! Yes! Very near!”

Near was right, because it wasn’t a minute after Sehun had shaken off the last vine and stepped out from the chasm that he began to feel the beginnings of whatever had woken him, the air in front of him warmer still and oddly stagnant.

He smelled the smoke before he saw anything else. Stopping dead in his tracks and lifting his sword higher, Sehun called out to the bird.

“Hey, what is this? What happened here?”

The bird’s squeaky reply came, but it had flown through a thick gathering of plants and trees and was too far for Sehun to pick it up. Peering around at the singed grasses beneath him and the dead, ashy leaves crumbling from many of the trees, Sehun again wondered if it was foolish of him to be scouting alone.

But, if he were the first to come upon some particularly interesting information, the Prince would likely reward him, especially if Heart soldiers did have anything to do with it. And with no one else around, he wouldn’t have to share.

He wouldn’t mind a week’s worth of rations and get-out-of-training-free passes.

Sehun moved quietly through the trees blocking his way, following the elevating deterioration for a good while until he came out by another section of river.  
At first, all he saw was the damage.

Everything in the immediate area was scorched; Trees’ branches crumbled away from their trunks, grass turned to ash underneath Sehun’s heavy boots, all previously blooming flowers and plant life had been thoroughly charred, and a cloud of grey smoke and glowing orange embers lingered in the air. As he got closer, the dense smoke began to infiltrate his lungs, causing him to take shallow, slow breaths.

Sehun covered his mouth as best he could as he stepped through the scene, something cracking underneath his boot. He grimaced as he saw the dead body of a squirrel covered in a thin layer of black soot.

He glanced about, squinting through the smoke screen, to see that a plethora of wildlife now lay still on the surrounding ground. The exhaust was most likely too much for the creatures’ small lungs if the intensity of which Sehun’s eyes stung told him anything. Whatever happened nearby had been powerful.  
Remembering the reason he had come, Sehun called out.

“Little bird, where are you now?”

When there was no reply, Sehun again resumed his talkingjay whistle. Still, the bird did not respond.

Talkingjays had extremely short attention spans, though. It was entirely possibly that the tiny bird had forgotten about him and their mission mid-flight.  
That is what Sehun told himself –that is, until he came across the bird’s insignificant corpse lying atop a singed pile of leaves, beak hung open and covered in ash.

“Fuck.”

Looking up to the sky, he found the sun’s position undetectable through the thick fog. He grumbled to himself, beginning to make his way through the rest of the area, inspecting for anything suspicious along the way. He had followed this bird out of his way and now when he returned to his post late he’d have absolutely nothing to show for it. Suho would love that.

“Fucking talkingj—,” Sehun cut off as he heard a quiet moan from nearby ahead.

Brandishing his sword, Sehun stood his ground.

Years of training in the guard had prepared him for an enemy situation, but Sehun had never actually been in the thick of an enemy brawl. Suho and him were occupied with the Prince primarily and left that sort of dirty work to the lower ranks. Now faced with the possibility of an ambush, Sehun began to wish he had called for backup.

He waited in the dense fog, grateful for the cover, muscles tense and poised to attack should anything move.

But nothing did.

The area was completely still, save for the occasional creaking branch or falling leaf. Sehun, unsure of whether the enemy laid further back and with what weapons, make a quick race for the nearby cover of unscathed forest.

Nearly at his target, he stumbled when he heard a second, slightly louder moan, this time directly adjacent to him.

Quickly twisting round to keep from tripping, Sehun crouched his knees and thrust out his sword, pinning it directly against the neck of the person on the ground beside him.

There, lying at his feet and seemingly unconscious, was the most beautiful boy Sehun had ever seen.

He kept his sword poised against the boy’s long, elegant neck, but at once his defense seemed silly. The boy, who looked considerably roughed up by account of the rips in his clothing and unconscious disposition, seemed to be just another victim of whatever had occurred here, like the countless woodland creatures surrounding them.

The smoke not as thick where he now stood, Sehun could see that the boy lay at the end of the destruction, his still body nestled in a shallow depression as if he’d been violently dragged and thrown against the ground.

Sehun furrowed his brow, perplexed.

If this was merely an incident of arson, which the smog and crumbling wildlife would suggest, then the boy’s situation didn’t make sense. Who in their right mind would wander into a fire that one could smell a half-mile back?

Unless he was taken by surprise, Sehun countered against himself.

There had been talk of new weapons being smuggled into the kingdoms, ones apparently capable of sudden, invasive destruction at the drop of a hat. They were said to tear up the ground, incinerate everything in their immediate area, and even injure those caught in the surrounding area. These weapons were only found in rumors, of course, but the description fit what Sehun was currently seeing.

Except this boy didn’t seem to be overly harmed. The forested area was thoroughly charred, but the only afflictions Sehun could see were the occasional bruises on otherwise unblemished skin and one obviously swollen ankle.

And the small nick at the base of his neck from Sehun’s sword, of course. He watched as a single line of blood dripped from the spot, moving to settle in one elegant collarbone.

No, he decided. If this had been the effect of those rumored weapons, this boy, and possibly even Sehun himself, should be dead.

He retracted his arm, deeming the defense from a sleeping body unnecessary. If the boy had wanted to attack him, he would have done so when Sehun had initially entered the area.

Leaning closer in for a better look, Sehun couldn't help but stare.

It wasn’t something Sehun ever considered when studying his enemy, but he also couldn’t deny that the person lying before him was stunningly attractive.

His face was objectively perfect, like something from a nymph's tale Sehun had heard as a child – Feather-soft brows lay delicately above long, curling lashes, his elegant nose leading seamlessly into a perfect cupid’s bow and small, but full, alluring lips. The boy’s lithe limbs were splayed out gracefully, and though he was clothed in the strangest garments Sehun had ever seen and covered in a light coating of ash from the fire, he could not deny how strikingly the boy’s light blonde hair contrasted with his smooth, tanned skin.

Sehun inched back as the boy sounded again, dainty mouth opening and brows furrowing in obvious pain. He waited for the boy to wake, but he didn’t, simply quieting once again, one rustling hand going still against the dirt beneath. How long had he been here?

Maybe more importantly, where had he come from?

Crouching down beside the boy, Sehun begin to search the boy’s clothing for any kind of identification, wary of any signs that the boy would wake. He didn’t appear to be carrying any kind of cross-body or purse, like most people in the kingdom, but that wasn’t necessarily strange – There were hoards of looters around, especially nearer the border, and Sehun knew many Spade citizens to carry all their valuables stitched to the insides of their clothing.

Sehun pushed open the boy’s worn, beaten up jacket, running his hands over the inner lining to make sure nothing was hidden inside. He briefly lifted the boy’s shirt, as well, making sure not to linger on the smooth expanse of stomach and delicate hipbones, but he found nothing inside. Covering him up again, Sehun let out a sigh of relief that the boy hadn’t decided to wake in that instant. He didn’t feel like having to explain that.

Moving downwards, Sehun removed the bizarre shoes, moving even more slowly when the boy whimpered as Sehun’s hand came into contact with his swollen ankle. Pulling the shoe off gently, Sehun was surprised to find a considerable amount of dried blood coating the inside, and sure enough when he checked the bottom of shoe he found a large puncture through the side of it. Sehun gently lifted the boys injured foot to check for damages, his suspicions affirmed upon seeing the jagged, dark cut running through his sole. He had obviously stepped into or been caught in something malicious.

So maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sehun pondered, and had simply passed out from blood loss, minimal as it was.

But that still didn’t explain where he’d come from and why he’d decided to cross through well-known Spade patrolled territory.

Placing the limb back on the ground, Sehun ran his hands up the sides of the boy’s leg, halting at mid-thigh and switching to the other, but still he found nothing that felt out of place. This was beginning to frustrate him.

Spade and Heart citizens were required to carry valid documentation at all times, mostly to avoid any excusable violence, but Heart citizens so rarely stumbled into the territory that it seemed unlikely for the boy to be one. He definitely wasn’t a Spade, that much Sehun knew – his hands were free of calluses and his clothing, though now thoroughly trashed, were obviously made from rare and likely expensive materials. He couldn’t be a Diamond or Club convert, either, because even if he were going through an I.D. renewal, they would have issued him a temporary. 

He had to be some type of fae.

Except that fae, whether it be common faeries, sprites, or elves, usually moved in groups, and almost always travelled through unmarked area. The only fae Sehun had come into direct contact with multiple times in his patrols were tree spirits, but they so rarely took a physical form that he deemed it unlikely for the boy to be one. That, and the fact that they were never very attractive, their skin typically resembling tree bark and limbs more like slithering tendrils.  
Puzzled, Sehun scanned the boy’s body again.

Though he admittedly lingered on his generous thighs for longer than necessary, Sehun didn’t miss the protruding shape of objects stored in the boy’s pants’ pockets once he finally tore his eyes away. Sehun attempted to check them– It was quite a task, considering how tightly the garment hugged around the boy’s slight hips and legs, even with the multiple rips running through them. Eventually Sehun was able to get a hand into the inefficiently small pockets, and he once again found himself praying the boy wouldn’t take this opportunity to wake. This was even more awkward than the shirt.

Sehun frowned as he turned out the boy’s pockets to reveal nothing but an odd rectangular glass object and a type of purse holding nothing but peculiar, rectangular plastic cards. Shuffling through the plastics, Sehun became even more perplexed.

Though they all appeared foreign, one of the small cards was obviously an identification card. The card had the boy’s picture and what must have been other identifying pieces of information, but it was all written in a language that Sehun had never seen before. 

Studying the I.D. picture, it was obvious that the boy hadn’t aged a day from when it was taken, but his hair in the picture was a soft, dark brown, beautifully complimenting a pair of the loveliest eyes under those same long lashes. How exactly did one’s eyes glimmer through a picturem, Sehun wondered.

Who exactly was this person?

The longer Sehun studied the unconscious boy the stranger the situation became.

And why was there no one else around?

Sehun squinted, but could see nothing but the surrounding debris and forest. It was as if this destruction had happened on it’s own accord, with no one around to spark it’s initial flame or watch it’s progress.

But forests didn’t set themselves aflame for no reason.

Crouching down beside the boy, Sehun decided he no longer wanted to wait around to see what would happen. He would have to come back later with more men.

He reached out and grabbed hold of one of the boy’s slim arms, shaking him gently. A pitiful whimpering sound came from him, but he made no movement or any sign of waking.

Sehun cursed, looking around at the dense, swirling smoke.

The unknown sound had awoken him from his nap and because he’d been nearby he was alone now, but that wouldn’t be the case soon. The smoke that curled high above the scorched treetops would make sure of that. There was no question that he should leave immediately.

The question was what to do with the boy.

He looked down at the boy’s fluttering lashes, the seemingly permanent frown etched between his brows. He appeared to be having some sort of nightmare.

Sehun frowned. The real nightmare would be if a guard who actually cared about defending his territory found him in the middle of this destruction.

Sehun weighed his options.

He had absolutely no responsibility to help this boy, assuming he wasn’t some decoy and needed help in the first place. Sehun could very well leave immediately and return to the palace without anyone knowing any different. As far as Sehun could tell he wasn’t a Spade citizen. He didn’t have any documentation, and the strange clothes and delicate, ethereal features suggested that he must be part of some nomadic tribe or ring, so his safety would lie under the jurisdiction of wherever he belonged.

The boy keened quietly, but stopped when Sehun instinctively laid a hand against his slight shoulder to quiet him. Sehun sighed.

Then again, the boy was in Spade territory, whether he belonged there or not. For all Sehun knew he was some fairy prince from one of the multiple rings deeper into the forest, or even a sprite diplomat from up in the mountains. With tensions as high as they were, Sehun didn’t think the Prince would appreciate any unannounced nomadic aggressions should something happen to one of their officials, whether Sehun knew who they were or not. And whose to say his injuries didn’t run much deeper than the surface? He could be dying from internal damages as Sehun stalled.

Moreover, Sehun didn’t really care where the boy came from, what his family was thinking at the moment, or what whoever else would do to him if they chanced upon him, but it seemed a waste of such a beautiful face.

Making a decision and knowing he’d probably regret it later, Sehun sheathed his sword before crouching down beside the boy.

It wasn’t difficult to pick him up; Sehun was strong from years of training and the boy weighed little, but Sehun made sure to adjust his position carefully as to not knock his injured foot around as he moved.

With one last look at the surrounding area and with the boy safely in his arms, Sehun made way for the castle.

. . .

Suho was going to be thoroughly pissed.

If the sun’s position and his slow retreat from the disaster site hadn’t been proof enough that Sehun was massively late for his check-in, the messenger pigeon that had just landed at his feet surely was.

Sehun groaned, taking the break in stride to readjust the sleeping boy, further securing his grip and tucking him closer into his chest for a better hold.

“Pippa the messenger pigeon at your service! Message for Sehun from a very-annoyed-brother!” the pigeon squeaked, ruffling it’s feathers in importance.

Sehun rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have to announce yourself every time, Pippa. This is the third time this week.”

Pippa cocked her head.

“That is true! You need a watch! Always late!”

“Whatever. What did he say?”

“Very-annoyed-brother: Check in is over. I covered for you but you owe me. Don’t want to hear any excuses you lazy expletive,” the pigeon finished happily, flapping her wings to prepare for take off.

“He called me a lazy expletive?”

“Something worse! I left that part out! This is a professional service!”

“Ah, of course.”

“Any return message, sir?”

“No, no,” Sehun waved the pigeon on, “I’m sure that would just fuel the fire.”

And with that dismissal the pigeon flew off. He continued his pace, again thinking of what he would say to his friend when he arrived.

It was true that Sehun was often late for check in, but usually it was for stupid reasons – over napping, deciding to stop for a meal rather than patrol, actually going back to the castle instead of doing work. The usual stuff.

Never had his reason for being late been that he found a stunningly attractive, injured, unconscious stranger and decided to bring said stranger home with him, despite the fact that guests were not allowed in their rooms without express permission from the Prince.

How had he gotten to this point?

Preoccupied with the strangeness of it all, it took Sehun a minute to notice that the boy was awake and looking at him.

He stopped walking abruptly, surprised into silence as the boy gazed up at him. Though he knew he should say something to explain himself, Sehun found himself speechless and thoroughly captivated. The boy was silent as well, staring up at him with large eyes the exact shade of honey-brown that they’d appeared in his I.D. picture.

Eventually, Sehun tore his eyes away, knowing he’d have to if he wanted to regain his ability to speak. He swallowed thickly.

“I found you unconscious,” he stated, looking anywhere but the boy’s unwavering gaze, “I didn’t know how badly you were hurt. That’s why I’m carrying you.”

The boy simply blinked, eyelids resting heavily before opening up again, his eyes cloudy with either sleep or confusion. The longer the boy stared without any semblance of acknowledgement or reaction, Sehun wondered if he was fully conscious yet.

“How are you feeling?”

Again, no response came. The boy opened his lips as if to speak, but then he merely shut them again. Instead, his gaze slowly dropped from Sehun’s face to his hands, which were currently gripping the boy’s back and legs in his efforts to carry him.

Sehun fidgeted, suddenly hyper-aware of the boy’s smooth skin visible through the countless rips in his strange clothing, of the plush thighs underneath his fingertips.

“Can you walk?”

Not waiting for a response he knew wouldn’t come, Sehun plopped the boy down on the ground. He kept an arm around the boy’s back when he saw him waver, but once the he had regained some balance Sehun stepped away.

It was only once he’d let go of him that Sehun was reminded of the boy’s injured foot and ankle. The boy was biting down on his lip, brow scrunched in discomfort, and he wondered for a moment if he should offer him a hand. 

Taking care of a sleeping, defenseless stranger was one thing, however; Sehun wasn’t so comfortable in the presence of a fully awake and still mysterious stranger. So, he stayed quiet and looked away until the boy could compose himself.

Looking to the smoke still rising in the distance, Sehun figured they were a few miles out from the damage. As long as the boy hurried to wherever he was supposed to go, no one should stop him or suspect him of anything strange.

“Did you see what happened?” Sehun inquired, turning back towards him.

The boy, who seemed to have forgotten his injuries already, ignored him, choosing instead to ogle his surroundings. Sehun watched as the boy reached out to touch a leaf from a plant on the ground, only to yelp and stumble back when the leaf reached back. The plant shook in amusement and the boy stared, his small mouth hung open in dumb shock.

Sehun shook his head. This kid was obviously high on whatever mushrooms or powders faeries typically cultivated in the warm forest caves. That, or he was exceptionally dumb. In that case, maybe he was a common Sprite.

Either way, he didn’t seem to be of much help, and Sehun had an actual job to attend to. It was time for him to go.

“Well, I have work. So, I’m leaving now.”

That caught the boy’s attention. He took a small step towards Sehun, but stopped almost immediately after, clasping his hands nervously in front of him.

Sehun sighed.

“You should go home. Whatever happened back there, there are going to be people wondering who started it. If you didn’t have anything to do with it… it would probably be better you weren’t found nearby.”

The boy pursed his lips prettily, fingers fidgeting as if he was thinking of what to say.

When nothing was said, Sehun gave a curt nod and began to step away. He didn’t make it a step before the boy let out a quiet squeak of protest, unclasping his hands and throwing one out in front of his slender frame as if he intended to grab hold of him.

When Sehun turned back to him, one eyebrow raised in irritation and curiosity, the boy flushed, his hand lowering and mouth firmly shut once again. Was this some sort of weird pixie game?

Impatient and a little on edge, Sehun prompted, “Is there something you’d like to ask?”

The boy’s gaze flickered down bashfully, as if he was embarrassed to speak, or maybe intimidated by Sehun’s less-than-friendly tone. His unsteady legs were shaking and he was wringing his hands with obvious nerves, but after a deep breath he lifted his head again to lock gazes with Sehun.

And though the boy didn’t, possibly couldn’t, say anything, his bright gaze seemed to convey a message – it was clear that he was asking, imploring even, that Sehun not leave.

And Sehun didn’t like that at all.

Turning on his heel in the direction of his outpost, Sehun began to walk quickly away. He admonished himself silently for picking up the boy in the first place. For all he knew he was a Heart spy, or a nomad convert, or a reckless pixie looking for his next play thing…

Sehun shuddered. He’d seen the remnants of those victims before. He glanced back to see if the boy was following him, promptly stopping in his tracks when he noticed why he wasn’t.

The boy had gone limp again, lying crumpled in a pathetic heap on the exact spot where Sehun had left him.

“Are you fucking kidding…”

Walking back towards him, Sehun scoffed in disbelief. The boy had apparently reverted back into his unconscious state, his brow again scrunched in pain or discomfort, hand twitching lightly every few seconds before falling eerily still again.

Except, now that Sehun was a bit closer, the boy seemed to be muttering something as well. Curious, he leaned closer in, attempting to listen.

The boy’s voice, though not at a typical speaking volume, was not overly quiet, and still Sehun couldn’t make out a single word. He was speaking in a completely different language to Sehun’s own, but Sehun wasn’t sure if he could even recognize what he was speaking. Faeries had countless dialects, of course, but most of them followed a similar language pattern or sound, and whatever was pouring out the boy’s delicate mouth sounded nothing like what Sehun had heard before.

He pulled back a safe distance from the boy, stuck at a crossroads.

Either this boy was playing with him, or he was extremely off-kilter and in need of major assistance. Either he wanted to eat Sehun’s heart and make musical instruments out of his rib bones, or he was just an unfortunate youth who’d got caught in someone’s escapade with arson.

The problem was that Sehun wasn’t sure of which case he was currently dealing with.

He knew what Suho’s advice would be; Always help a person if you can, no matter where they’re from or who they are, but always make sure your safety is not at risk before you do it.

Eyeing the delicate body before him, Sehun couldn’t say he felt precisely threatened. But, he similarly couldn’t say he was confident that the boy was harmless.

And besides, it wasn’t like the boy had given him permission to bring him to the castle. He was probably crossing dangerous boundaries that would get him and his fellow guards in trouble later.

At least that’s what he told himself as he picked the boy up and placed him further towards the side of the path they’d been walking, making sure to settle him at the base of a tree that would obscure him from view. Maybe he shouldn’t take the boy back with him, but he couldn’t just leave him in the middle of a visible path for anyone to take advantage of. Sehun had some morals.

Content enough of his placement, Sehun took a step back. Though he knew it was well past the time he should have been getting back, it felt strange to just leave.

“Well, I’m leaving now,” Sehun stated, feeling dumber and dumber as he spoke, but also feeling as if the boy deserved a formal goodbye. “Is there anything you’d like to say before I leave?”

He knew the question was pointless – The boy was unconscious, thick lashes barely fluttering against dainty cheekbones, limbs completely still as he lay nestled against the tree trunk.

Feeling foolish, Sehun turned to leave once more.

But, of course, just as he was about to take his first step away from a ridiculous situation and thoroughly ridiculous day, the universe decided to mess with him.

“Please… help me.”

Sehun twisted round, astonished at the soft, barely audible reply. The boy was looking at him, obviously struggling to hold up heavy lids, but the desperation in the boy’s gaze was enough to assure Sehun that he was aware of what he was saying.

Their eye contact only lasted a moment, because not a second after the boy had spoken his eyes closed again, a small gasp escaping him as he fell forward.

Sehun dropped to catch him before his head hit the ground, and in his haste he was effectively cradling the boy’s head and shoulders against his chest. 

Pressing his fingers against the boy’s impossibly soft neck, Sehun searched for a pulse.

A few terrible seconds passed, but eventually he felt it; It was faint, and slow, but the boy’s heart was beating steadily. His body no longer twitched and his closed eyes were completely still, as if he’d fallen into an even deeper sleep. For how long that would remain just sleep, Sehun couldn’t tell.

Gazing down at the boy’s delicate features, feeling the complete stillness of the boy’s body in his hands, and recognizing what the boy’s feather-soft request had been before he’d regressed, Sehun knew that there was only one decision he could make.

“Fuck.”


End file.
